ABSTRACT
Designers already use sophisticated techniques throughout the design process to fully understand people's latent and unmet needs, in order to create products, services and spaces that are use able and desirable. Changing behavior is of course one aspect of crime reduction, but design also has an important role to play in preventing crime and reducing criminal activity without compromising the enjoyment and usability of products, places and services by legitimate users. If designers consider the ways in which the object, systems or environments they are designing might be susceptible to crime—and do this early enough in the design process—they can prevent crime from occurring, or at least reduce the opportunities for offender behavior. For individuals the cost of crime can include time off work through injury, as well as the hidden costs of anxiety, stress, feelings of vulnerability and reduced confidence.
