What is Secured by Design?

Secured by Design is a police organisation working alongside the Police Service in the UK They seek to achieve sustainable reductions in crime through design and other approaches to reduce the demand on police forces and help people live in a safer society.

SBD was created in 1989 following the housing boom of the 1960s-1980s when there was a huge and urgent demand for housing. Estates were built quickly and often cheaply without any basic security. Burglars found externally glazed windows and doors relatively easy to enter as all they had to do in many cases was lift out the double-glazing and climb through the frame. In the wider built environment, sky walkways and subways incorporated into many large estates were designed to keep apart pedestrians and the rapidly growing number of vehicles. However, this created a haven for criminal activities where escape routes were everywhere and anonymity was absolute. In response, the Police Service set up SBD to combat the significant rise in burglary.

Raising standards in product manufacture

SBD started working with industry bodies and manufacturers to tackle the variations in the quality of the product being sold against the product that was originally tested. With SBD driving the market, it resulted in test houses being created and certification bodies set up to meet the demand. This work over many years has raised the awareness of the importance and benefits of security throughout the standards and construction industry. Today, products like doors and windows have to be certified by a United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) certification body before being considered for SBD’s Police Preferred Specification.

SECURED BY DESIGN ACHIEVEMENTS

More than one million homes built to SBD standards over the last 30 years
Crime reductions sustainable each year and every year: that’s significant because most SBD homes are social housing, mostly in deprived and higher crime areas
Worked with police forces to reduce the number of false alarm calls to police from 1,052,538 in 1996 to 124,164 in 2017
Crime reductions of up to 87% on new developments (2017) and 61% in major refurbishment projects (2009)
Since 1989, there has been an overall reduction in property crime of 60%
Iconic sites include the 2012 London Olympics site, the 2014 Commonwealth Games Village, Wembley Stadium, the National Stadium of Wales and the Scottish & Welsh Assembly Buildings

Embedding SBD into the planning process

In another strategic move, SBD worked with Government to embed crime prevention into the planning process. The role of Designing Out Crime Officers is referenced in the National Planning Policy Framework and the National Planning Practice Guidance. This has led to Designing Out Crime Officers working closely with architects, developers and local authority planners at the design stage to design out crime by improving the physical security of buildings and incorporating crime prevention techniques in the layout and landscaping of the immediate surroundings. All this security advice and guidance is available in a series of SBD Design Guides which provide an authoritative source of reference. They are updated periodically to reflect product innovation, new technology and changing patterns of criminal behaviour.

Secured By Design Products

Security Direct has a range of products which are Secured By Design. All products that are tested to the LPS1175 accreditation are classified as Secured By Design preferred specification. We have a range of Security Rated Roller Shutters, Security Rated Steel Doors and Security Rated Security Grilles. If you want to discuss your Secured By Design requirements, then please call our sales team on 01482 889950.