Effect of Architecture in Reducing Crimes - Research Paper

Introduction

The primary function of architectural work is designing of cities and rural areas in a way that there are no loopholes and opportunities for criminal acts. The strategic approaches exploited by architecture aims at preventing crime (Sutton, Cherney & White, 2013). This is achievable without designing and constructing actual fortress that may deteriorate the quality of life, especially in urban centers such as St. Louis Missouri (Gardiner, 1978). The essence of this is because the physical environment plays a crucial role in creating opportunities for crimes as well as fear among the inhabitants of such environments. For instance, some places favour criminal acts due to their physical layout. It these such regions where individuals get the fear of the crimes of the streets, and a typical example are regions where criminals in St predate individuals. Louis Missouri (Gardiner, 1978). In the process, various strategies can be used in achieving a secure community.

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Designing Urban Villages

Robert Park developed the theory behind this architectural design. Park postulated that cities and areas inhabited by human beings are products of the physical components as well as human behaviour. In this manner, two aspects directly affect one another. In this case, designing cities and neighbourhoods of St. Louis Missouri leaving loopholes for crimes as well as hideouts for criminals is a contribution to an insecure city. The converse of it is true, and Park implies that physical proximity of individuals in an environment is trigger cooperation, integration, recognition, the establishment of morale, and this amounts to mutual protection among the members of such as the community (Gardiner, 1978). To this end, architectural work designs the environment to confer social integration directly, and in this manner, it indirectly exploits social cohesion to address criminal acts. For instance, when the social aspects of Missouri residents were left disorganized and disorderly, there was a high prevalence of crimes (Grant, 2015). The reason behind this is that a disorderly and disorganized physical environment enables criminal acts and criminals thrive, and whenever they get into action, they successfully terrorize the community and get away undetected. On the contrary, organizing the environment in a way that there are social cohesion and mutual protection and inclusivity, criminals are easily detected, and their hideouts are also located hassle-free (Sutton, Cherney & White, 2013). The development of urban villages is facilitated strategically in that there is a design for pedestrian sidewalks, motorist passageways alongside other security apparatus such as proximity sensors to detect intrusion (Hopper, 2012). Again, there is an outline for the construction of natural and mechanical barriers such as walls and fences. Landscaping, however, plays a fundamental role in achieving this (Hopper, 2012).

Natural Surveillance for Crime

It happens that the concepts used in architecture to mitigate crime and criminal offences work synergistically. Thus, none of them is utterly independent, and this further discounts the aspect of one-size-fits-all that might be used. Regarding this point, every environment has unique properties, and this means that the architectural design will exploit the data regarding their physical appearance. For instance, when laying out the design of urban villages, the concept of natural surveillance for criminals and criminal aspects come to light. The primary object of designing these surveillance parameters is to maximize visibility of individuals, and thus, hassle-free detection of suspects, intruders as well as activities that are completely out of the ordinary (Hopper, 2012). A typical example of the designs' pertinence to this subject is robust street lighting provisions in the models.

The crime environment is the primary target in this part, and incidences of theft, muggings as well as street robbery are down stopped. For instance, designing neighbourhood streets to urban centers where social amenities are located have been a source of insecurity nightmare. There have been episodes of carjackings, muggings as well as robberies arising from the fact that criminals from the streets find their way into such institutions. Worse still, the location of parking lots outside these institutions put workers and guests of these institutions at risk of attacks from criminals (Gardiner, 1978). The solutions elucidate by architectural designs is planning for the location of such facilities in which they are to be constructed far off the reach of intruders from the streets. This amounts to three effective ways through which the design of the environment solves crimes. One, redesigning street systems so that intruders from the streets have no easy access to such facilities. Two, development of transitional buffer zones between such facilities and residential areas by constructing items such as off-set street parking lots or playgrounds. Lastly, ban parking lots, traditionally designed to serve hospital visitors and staff, adjacent to such institutions (Gardiner, 1978). These strategies enhance the perception of risk offenders and enhance the limiting access of the vulnerable and criminal targets by criminals (Hopper, 2012).

Crime Opportunity and Environmental Scale

In this part, the development of physical environment is a function of environmental design, and the objective of this is that individuals and groups inhabiting environments should develop together and embrace group territoriality (Gradiner, 1978). This point has links with the concept of a social approach to crime mitigation. However, its uniqueness if a product of the fact that the environment is scaled, and thus, crime opportunities are identified and arrested (Gardiner, 1978). In this perspective, it is a fact that there is a likelihood of conflict development between or among closely-living groups within St. Louis Missouri, and thus, a group may not be a conflict with another group inhabiting regions far off their reach (Pease & Roach, 2013). This is because neighbouring groups and individuals are always in a scramble for social amenities such as recreational amenities like basketball pitches or even land (Gardiner, 1978). These environmental conflicts precipitate diverse forms of crimes in which conflicting parties lodge war and crime against one another, and thus, this demands for the reinforcement of a balanced scale as well as the relationship between these groups (Gardniner, 1978). For instance, there were incidences in which one group could successfully eject another and deny them an opportunity to use either of these social amenities. In response, such groups retaliated by launching criminal acts like robbery, mugging or any other form of violent attack. In this part, the scope of architectural work aims at identifying the intended user or owner of the facility under dispute, and consequently developing a mechanism of reducing the competition for the facility by the construction of a street or block to avoid intrusion by other groups (Gardiner, 1978). This can be supplemented by an institution surveillance system so that a record of individuals violating the frameworks of the executed to facilitate individual territoriality are obtained (Hopper, 2012).

Conclusion

In most cases, environmental design and the physical layout is a significant security approach t6o crime in estates as well as cities. This is achieved through architectural work that aims at addressing security issues, and this is achievable through various strategies. One of the fundamental approaches in this part is the landscaping and restructuring of the physical environment. To this end, there is strategic planning of social amenities, residential neighbourhoods as well as factors, such as playgrounds, that may trigger violence among individuals.

References

Gardiner, R. A. (1978). Design for safe neighbourhoods: The environmental security planning and design process. Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. Washington D.C, 1978. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/50335NCJRS.pdf

Grant, H. (2015). Social Crime Prevention in the Developing World: Exploring the Role of Police in Crime Prevention. Cham: Springer International Publishing: Imprint: Springer, 2015. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=FVyvBQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=social+approach+to+reducing+crime&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwid87zvj5jhAhXs6OAKHfB2BNMQ6AEIRTAF#v=onepage&q=social%20approach%20to%20reducing%20crime&f=false

Hopper, L. J. (2012). Landscape architectural graphic standards. Hoboken, N.J. : John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=SDd7XcbP2ewC&pg=PA77&dq=architecture+developing+natural+surveillance+for+crime&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjzosCFk5jhAhWQnhQKHQNWCn4Q6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=architecture%20developing%20natural%20surveillance%20for%20crime&f=false

Pease, K., & Roach, J. (2013). Evolution and crime. Willan. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=9x1clA97GlYC&pg=PA56&dq=how+conflict+among+individuals+and+groups+living+in+an+environment+trigger+crime&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwihuZSNn5jhAhVEAmMBHcaDC0cQ6AEILTAB#v=onepage&q=how%20conflict%20among%20individuals%20and%20groups%20living%20in%20an%20environment%20trigger%20crime&f=false

Sutton, A., Cherney, A., & White, R. (2013). Crime prevention: Principles, perspectives, and practices. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=pfI0AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA53&dq=Crime+Opportunity+and+Environmental+Scale&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjpx57tr5jhAhWz6uAKHbj8A4EQ6AEIUzAH#v=onepage&q=Crime%20Opportunity%20and%20Environmental%20Scale&f=false