Which theory posits that crime can be prevented and fear reduced by designing environments?

• A. Crime Prevention through Environmental Design
• B. Community Policing
• C. Situational Crime Prevention
• D. Deterrence Theory

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that the places where people live and move influence crime and how safe they feel. When spaces are designed to be more observable, easier to control, clearly owned, and well maintained, opportunities for crime shrink and the area signals that it’s watched and cared for. This is Crime Prevention through Environmental Design. It focuses on how physical features—like sightlines, entry points, boundaries, and upkeep—shape both offender decisions and residents’ sense of security, so crime can be prevented and fear reduced by design.

This differs from approaches that focus on policing style or punishment rather than how the environment is built. Community Policing emphasizes relationships and problem-solving with communities. Deterrence Theory centers on punishment to discourage crime, not on modifying the environment. Situational Crime Prevention aims to reduce opportunities, but CPTED specifically grounds the prevention in the design of the physical environment itself.