The Secured by Design initiative is damaging British cities, robbing them of greenery and public amenities while promoting fear
Last month, police officers descended on public green spaces in Stanhope, a 1960s residential estate in Ashford, Kent, to fight crime. Rather than arresting any suspected criminals, officers took away five benches and uprooted low-lying shrubs from small parks. In a since deleted tweet, Ashford Police explained that the benches had provided “places to gather” and their removal would help “design out crime”.
The chief inspector of Ashford Police explained that removing the benches and shrubbery were part of a temporary trial to “prevent antisocial behaviour in hotspot areas”. The idea that providing pleasant places to sit with friends causes crime sounds absurd, but it’s one of a number of controversial urban design principles that British police forces are promoting. Increasingly, these principles are dictating the design of our neighbourhoods: police aren’t just removing benches and bushes, they are demanding a wider raft of changes to architecture and public spaces, including blocking the construction of new cycle paths, dictating the height of garden gates and deciding the orientation of homes.
Phineas Harper is director of the charity Open City
