Steps Towards a Safer City

We have an opportunity to make the rebuilt Christchurch a safer place to live, work, play and learn, according to the group charged with leading us to be the safest city in New Zealand.

Safer Christchurch, the 21-partner interagency group working towards making our city safer, has just been awarded a two year Ministry of Justice funding contract to encourage crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) in the city’s rebuild.

“The contract demonstrates the Ministry’s commitment to pro-active crime prevention by ensuring that CPTED plays a part in the city’s rebuild, and we are very grateful Christchurch is being given this opportunity,” says Christchurch City Council Community Support Manager Carolyn Gallagher.

Safer Christchurch staff will now have CPTED training and also contract an expert CPTED consultant to offer advice and expertise on proposed plans and developments. A further initiative will be the formation of a group of interested parties to champion and encourage the use of CPTED in the rebuilding of the city. Safer Christchurch hopes to see Police, Fire Service and other agencies working alongside the private sector in this group.

CPTED offers opportunities to reduce crime, reduce the fear of crime and improve the quality of life by putting more thought into the early stages of design. Basic steps like lighting design, types of fencing and placement of seating are well known CPTED features that can discourage crime and make an environment safer.

“These are usually very simple measures that take just a little thought and can have very significant community benefits. This contract will give us all the opportunity to explore this more and find ways to make our city a safer place for us all to enjoy,” says Carolyn Gallagher.