ABSTRACT
In this chapter the evolving strategies of policing place are unpacked, highlighting how the police have increasingly become involved in the creation of the built environment and in the governance of places. This, first, highlights how initial urban planning ideas of defensive architecture and its influence on human behaviour were utilised by the police in attempts to ‘secure by design’. In the contemporary period this has led to an increasingly sophisticated array of safety and security measures being deployed, with the police emerging as an increasingly important actor in the management and use of places. Second, the chapter reflects upon how these defensive design ideas and the role of the police in place-making have further been adapted in attempts to counter the threat from urban terrorism. Here, the policing of place emerges as a delicate balancing act between ensuring safety and security and maintaining the vitality of the public realm.
