In planning and problem solving, CPTED stands for which concept?

• A. CPTED
• B. Community Policing
• C. Situational Crime Prevention
• D. Criminal Deterrence

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is that CPTED is a planning and problem‑solving approach that uses the built environment to prevent crime. CPTED stands for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, which means shaping spaces to reduce opportunities for wrongdoing and to encourage protective behavior.

In practice, CPTED relies on design choices that make crime harder and less attractive while making legitimate activity easier. Think about how lighting, sightlines, and clear lines of sight (natural surveillance) help people notice suspicious activity; how controlled entry points and defined boundaries (access control and territorial reinforcement) guide who belongs where; and how well‑kept, well‑used spaces (maintenance) signal that people care about the area and watch over it. All of these design elements are part of a planning/problem‑solving mindset aimed at reducing crime through the environment itself, rather than through punishment or policing alone.

The other options don’t fit as the best answer because they describe related but different ideas. Community Policing centers on building relationships and collaboration with the public, not specifically on environmental design to prevent crime. Situational Crime Prevention is a related theory about reducing opportunities, but CPTED refers to the environmental design framework itself. Criminal Deterrence focuses on punishment risk and deterrence rather than how the physical space is designed to influence behavior.

So, the best choice is CPTED, because it directly embodies Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design within planning and problem solving.