ARCHITECTURE AND CRIME

METHOD OF RESEARCH

• Scholarly Articles : Architecture as Crime Control (Neal Kumar Katyal),

Less Crime, by Design (Paul Ekblom)

• Book : A Burglar’s Guide to the City (Geoff Manaugh)

• Newspaper Articles : Mid-day

The Times of India

• Survey : Google Form

Word of Mouth
 INTRODUCTION

• At the beginning of the twenty-first century, one of the most important and underexplored forms of crime control is
architecture.

• Understanding the relationship between crime and architecture is especially important as it becomes increasingly clear
that conventional law enforcement methods are, at best, partially effective in the fight against crime.

• Architectural solutions can prove more practical than the utopian ideas often considered when crime control gets
interdisciplinary, e.g., better parenting and families and stronger law enforcement, or more jobs and education.

• The high crime rates of inner cities are related to the physical environment and not simply to the conventional
explanations (poverty, unemployment, poor schools, etc.).Yet the instinctive reaction of many lawyers is to focus on
legal rules, without thinking about the constraint of physical space.
 EXAMPLES OF HOW
ARCHITECTURE INFLUENCES
CRIME.
Broken
Windows

• ‘Broken windows’ encouraging the burglar to break into Low

the house. Street
Lighting
• ‘Low street lighting’ leading to a dark space and thus,
theft or molestation.

• ‘Extremely open Spaces’ where surveillance becomes

difficult.
Extremely
• ‘Deserted Narrow Lanes’ formed by the space between Open
two buildings. Spaces

Deserted
Narrow
Lanes
 WHAT TYPE OF CRIME
AT WHAT TIME OF THE DAY WHAT KIND OF A SURROUNDING
TAKES PLACE THE
DO MOST CIMES TAKE PROMOTES CRIME IN MOST
MOST IN MUMBAI?
PLACE IN MUMBAI? CASES IN MUMBAI?
VARIOUS CRIMES IN MUMBAI AND THEIR HIERARCHY.

Theft

House Break-
In
Physical
Assault
Sexual Assault

Kidnapping

Murder
WHAT KIND OF SPACES ARE CONSIDERED TO BE SAFE BY
PEOPLE IN MUMBAI?

Open Parks

Safe Spaces
Main Roads around Residences

Educational Buildings

Crossroad Junctions

Streets Formed by Closely knit high rises

 TYPOLOGIES OF SAFE SPACES

BOMBAY
SCOTTISH
SCHOOL
KISHAN
UDYAAN

SHIVAJI PARK

HINDUJA
HOSPITAL

Area surrounded by
Open Park Crossroad junction
Public activities
WHAT KIND OF SPACES ARE CONSIDERED TO BE UNSAFE
BY PEOPLE IN MUMBAI? WHY?

Unsafe Spaces Railway Stations

Reasons :
Narrow by-lanes
• Negligible Street-Lighting

• Lack of visibility
Extremely open spaces without surrounding
buildings nearby • Extreme amount of crowd

• Very less crowd

Streets formed by closely knit high rises
 FOUR BASIC CONCEPTS FOR PREVENTING CRIME, THROUGH
ARCHITECTURE

• Natural surveillance: Design should create opportunities for natural surveillance by residents, neighbours, and
bystanders.

• Territoriality: A second crime-prevention technique is to construct landscapes and buildings that create and reflect a
sense of territoriality so that residents develop proprietary attitudes and outsiders feel deterred from entering a
private space.

• Building community: Another aspect of effective architectural design is the use of structures that build
communities instead of dividing them to avoid social isolation.

• Strengthening targets: One of the more obvious ways in which architecture can prevent crime is by strengthening
targets against attack.