Harris Crime Prevention Services - The forgotten security imperative

As with CPTED, CPTEM security management should be considered at the early stages of design to ensure a continuum of the security management strategy once a facility is operational.  CPTEM should be adopted, even if CPTED did not get the appropriate attention in the architectural brief.  Ensuring CPTEM is etched on the executive mindset will ensure the best crime prevention practice is entrenched as a sustainable management function. 

CPTEM security management involves managing a post-construction security environment built upon a CPTED foundation. A pre-requisite to an effective CPTEM strategy is a solid working knowledge of CPTED principles and their application to particular contexts. At the basic level, CPTEM puts management plans in place for the removal of graffiti and other signs of vandalism, making sure lighting is working and that landscaping functions as a crime deterrent rather than a crime magnet (e.g. height of bushes, removal of lower tree branches etc).

CPTEM security management is the acknowledgement that there is a strong and enduring relationship between the organic nature of any facility, the natural dynamics of security risks, the often ‘unexpected’ security incidents and the challenged and limited security resources.

CPTEM is an important part of Security Risk Management (SRM); however it is an area most likely to be forgotten. 

To varying degrees, CPTEM is something that managers do in the course of their work, perhaps without knowing its name. However, often lacking is the knowledge and the commitment that will deliver all the benefits to the facility in operational risk management terms and to the facility owner in due diligence and financial risk management terms.

CPTEM as with any security solutions strategy should not only include the obvious but the not so obvious.  Wonderful CPTEM ideas can often come from staff, especially those who work at night.