Measures

Measures are provisions made or actions taken to protect an object or subject from risk.

Measure types

Measures can be classified by their point of application in the process of a criminal act. From the perspective of a criminal, all measures reduce the perceived attractiveness of a target. Identified points of application are:

• Increasing perceived effort
• Increasing perceived risk
• Decreasing anticipated reward
• Controlling contributing circumstances
• Other

All measure types can be classified in one of these categories. The table below shows for each of the measure types in this Securipedia which point of application it works on.

Increasing perceived effort	Increasing perceived risk	Decreasing anticipated reward	Contributing circumstances	Other
Target hardening{{#info:Target hardening is the measure of strengthening the security by increasing the required effort to commit crimes to or at an object}}	Surveillance{{#info:Surveillance is the measure of monitoring the behaviour, activities, or other changing information, usually of people for the purpose of influencing, managing, directing, or protecting.}}	Target removal{{#info:Target removal is the reduction of risk by removing the perceived attracting aspects from an attractive object}}	Controlling disinhibitors{{#info:Controlling disinhibitors is the reduction of risk by removing or regulating disinhibiting substances or circumstances}}	Deflection{{#info:Deflecting crime is the reduction of risk by creating circumstances that direct criminals to less critical objects}}
Access control{{#info:Access control is the reduction of risk by regulating and controlling the flows of traffic into and out of an area or object}}	Reaction force{{#info:A reaction force is the measure of having adequate resources (first responders) to react to emergencies in order to minimize impact and restore a normal situation as soon as possible.}}	Removal of crime motivator{{#info:Removal of a crime motivator is the reduction of risk by removing the benefits of a crime}}	Facilitating compliance{{#info:Facilitating compliance is the reduction of risk by decreasing crime by facilitating compliance}}	Creating awareness / stimulating conscience{{#info:Creating awareness is the measure of increasing the mental reserves of people to committing crimes}}
Directing traffic flows{{#info:Directing traffic flows is the measure of reducing the opportunities for a criminal to approach a suitable target by physically separating the flows of traffic}}	Screening{{#info:Screening is the measure of reducing risk by identifying all traffic entering and/or exiting a certain area or object}}		Rule setting{{#info:Rule-setting is the measure of erecting legal or regulatory restrictions of a temporal and/or local nature in order to reduce risk}}
Removing means{{#info:Removing means is the reduction of risk by ensuring the tools or other means conductive to crime are not available}}	Increase punishment{{#info:Increasing punishment is the reduction of risk by the increase of the negative consequences of crime when caught}}		Ownership{{#info:Ownership is the reduction of crime by establishing an environment where there is a clear separation between public and private space}}
			Maintenance{{#info:Maintenance is the measure of discouraging crime by designing places with management and maintenance in mind}}

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text below is a placeholder for measures that can be inserted in other pages

• Target hardening
• Surveillance
• Target removal
• Controlling disinhibitors
• Deflection
• Access control
• Reaction force
• Removal of crime motivator
• Facilitating compliance
• Directing traffic flows
• Screening
• Removing means
• Ownership
• Maintenance

against vandalism

I. Target hardening. This situational crime prevention approach involves the use of devices or materials designed to obstruct the vandal by physical barriers:

1. Toughened glass (acrylic, polycarbon, etc.)
2. Latticework or screens to cover windows
3. Fire-retardant paint
4. High-impact plastic or steel fixtures
5. Hardened rubber or plastic swing seats
6. Concrete or steel picnic tables, benches, bleachers
7. Trash receptacles bolted to concrete bases
8. Rough-play-tolerant adventure playgrounds
9. Original planting of large-diameter trees
10. Slash-proof transit vehicle seats
11. Steel-framed bus seats
12. Anti-graffiti repellent spray on bus seats
13. Tamper-proof sign hardware and fasteners
14. Door anchor hinges with non-removable pins

II. Access control. This approach involves architectural features, mechanical and electronic devices, and related means for maintaining prerogatives over the ability to gain entry:

1. Key control systems
2. Locked gates, doors, windows
3. Electromagnetic doors unopenable from outside
4. Deadbolt and vertical-bolt locks
5. Metal door/window shutters
6. Protective grills over roof access openings
7. Fenced yards
8. Vertical metal or small-mesh (unclimbable) fencing
9. Reduced number of building entrances
10. Unclimbable trees/bushes planted next to building
11. Prickly bushes planted next to site to be protected
12. Sloped windowsills
13. Elimination of crank and gear window mechanisms
14. Steeply angled roofs with parapets and ridges
15. Use of guard dogs
16. Use of student photo identification
17. Partitioning off of selected areas during "downtime" hours
18. High curbs along areas to be protected

III. Deflecting offenders. This is the channelling of potentially criminal or aggressive behaviour in more pro-social directions by means of architectural, equipment, and related alterations:

1. Graffiti boards, mural programs
2. Schools/studios to give graffiti writers exposure and recognition
3. Interesting wallpaper, daily newspaper, chalkboard on bathroom wall
4. Litter bins
5. Wash fountains and towel dispensers in school hallways
6. Steering of pathway circulation:
   1. Paving the shortest walk between connecting points
   2. Avoiding sharp changes in direction
   3. Paving natural shortcuts after demonstrated use
   4. Installing or landscaping traffic barriers (e.g., benches, bushes)
7. "Next step" posters on broken equipment

IV. Controlling facilitators. This is the alteration of the means to criminal or aggressive behaviour by making such means less available, less accessible, or less potentially injurious:

1. Control over sales of spray paint and indelible markers
2. Removal of debris from construction/demolition sites
3. Removal of waste paper, rubbish, and other combustibles
4. Use of tamperproof screws
5. Placement of permanent signs, building names, and decorative hardware out of reach from ground
6. Placement of school thermostats, fire alarms, and light switches far

from "hang-out" areas

V. Exit-entry screening. Instead of seeking to exclude potential perpetrators (as in access control), this set of tactics seeks to increase the likelihood of detecting persons who are not in conformity with entry requirements (entry screening) or detecting the attempted removal of objects that should not be removed from protected areas (exit screening):

1. Closed-circuit TV
2. Metal detectors
3. Vibration detectors
4. Motion detectors
5. Perimeter alarm system
6. Library book tags

VI. Formal surveillance. This is surveillance by police, guards, monitors, citizen groups, or other paid or volunteer security personnel:

1. Police, citizen, senior citizen, tenant, parent patrols
2. Neighbourhood Watch, School Watch, Block Watch, Rail/Bus Watch groups
3. Provision of on-site living quarters for citizens or security personnel (e.g., "school sitters," "campground hosts")
4. Informant hotlines (e.g., "rat-on-a-rat program," "secret witness program")
5. Crime Solvers Anonymous reward program
6. Mechanical, ultrasonic, infrared, electronic intruder alarm systems
7. Automatic fire detection systems
8. After-hours use of school public address system for monitoring

VII. Natural surveillance. This is surveillance provided by employees, home owners, pedestrians, and others going about their regular daily activities:

1. Community after-school use
2. Reduced teacher-student ratio
3. Increased number of employees (e.g., playground supervisors, bus conductors, teachers)
4. Round-the-clock custodial staffing
5. Live-in custodian/caretaker
6. Distribution of faculty/staff offices throughout the school
7. Assignment of additional faculty/staff members to hall, cafeteria duty
8. "Youth vacation vigil" student surveillance program
9. Use of bus/train employees to report vandalism on their routes
10. Improved exterior and interior lighting
11. Low trimming of shrubbery and plants

VIII. Target removal. This is the physical removal or enhanced inaccessibility of potential vandalism targets:

1. Use of graffiti dissuaders
   1. Teflon, plastic laminate, fiberglass, or melamine covering
   2. Rock cement, slanted siding, or deeply grooved surfaces
   3. "Paint-outs" or use of contrasting colours in patterned surfaces
   4. Fast-growing wall vines or shrubbery, or construction of wall barriers
2. Removal of pay phones from high-loitering areas
3. Removal of corner bus seats, hidden from driver's view
4. Removal of outside plant bulbs
5. Windowless school or other buildings
6. Omission of ground-level windows
7. Concealed school door closers
8. Concealed pipework
9. Fittings moved out of reach (e.g., from wall to ceiling)
10. Signs/fixtures made flush with wall or ceiling
11. Key-controlled light fixtures in public areas
12. Removal of (or no replanting of) easily damaged trees/bushes

IX. Identifying property. This is the physical identification marking of potential vandalism targets:

1. Property marking with school district identification
2. Property marking with business logo
3. Property marking with identification seals
4. Property marking with organization stencil
5. Property marking with individual's Social Security number

X. Removing inducements. This is the physical alteration of potential vandalism targets:

1. Rapid repair of damaged property
2. Rapid removal of graffiti
3. Use of small windowpanes
4. Elimination of school washroom and toilet stall doors
5. Elimination of bars over toilet stall doorways
6. School restroom thermostats kept at 62°F
7. Removal of gates and fences
8. Repainting of playground equipment in bright colours
9. Beautification programs (e.g., landscaping, painting, maintenance)

XL Rule setting. This is the making of explicit prior statements about acceptable and unacceptable behaviours, as well as about penalties for non-compliance:

1. Model "hate crime" bill
2. Antivandalism laws
3. Building design specifications
4. Building security codes
5. Parental liability statutes
6. Prohibition of sale of spray paint and indelible markers
7. Codes of rights and responsibilities
8. School rules of student conduct
9. Rigorous, irregular, no-warning fire drills

XII. Education. These are direct efforts to dissuade potential and actual vandals by informing them about vandalism costs, consequences, and alternatives:

1. Vandalism education programs
2. Arson education programs
3. Vandalism awareness walks
4. Vandalism case study classroom discussions
5. Classroom brainstorming on vandalism reduction
6. Year-round education
7. Student orientation handbook and meetings
8. Multicultural sensitivity training
9. Antivandalism lectures by older students to younger ones
10. Antivandalism films
11. Antivandalism games
12. Antivandalism slide or tape program
13. Antivandalism brochures
14. "Ride with pride" antivandalism transit program

XIII. Publicity. These are indirect efforts to inform potential and actual vandals, as well as the general public, about vandalism costs, consequences, and alternatives:

1. Antivandalism advertising
2. Antivandalism news releases
3. Milk carton/grocery bag antivandalism messages
4. Antivandalism decals on mass transit vehicles
5. Antivandalism slogan contests
6. "Sign amnesty" day (a day of no fines or other penalties for those who return stolen signs)
7. "Help the playground" campaigns
8. Antivandalism buttons, T-shirts, rulers, bookmarks, posters

XIV. Punishment. These are negative experiences directed to perpetrators consequent to their vandalistic behaviour:

1. Suspension from school
2. Monetary fines
3. Restitution
4. Student vandalism account
5. Group billing for residence hall damage

XV. Counselling. These are remedial experiences directed to perpetrators consequent to their vandalistic behaviour:

1. Student counselling programs
2. Conflict negotiation skills training
3. Moral reasoning training
4. Interpersonal skills training
5. Aggression replacement training
6. Behaviour modification treatment for arson
   1. Stimulus satiation
   2. Contingency management
   3. Assertion training

XVI. Involvement. These are efforts to increase the sense of involvement with and ownership of potential vandalism targets:

1. Encouraging students in residence halls to personalize (paint, furnish) their rooms
2. Permitting students in residence halls to retain same room several semesters
3. Student participation in school decision making
4. School administration collaboration with student organizations
5. School-home collaboration
6. Hiring of unemployed youths as subway vandalism inspectors
7. "Adopt-a-station" antivandalism program

XVII. Organizational climate. These are procedures for enhancing the quality of the potential or actual vandal's social/educational/daily living context:

1. Teacher/staff approval/reward for student prosocial behaviours
2. Teacher respect toward students
3. Teacher/parent modelling of respect for others and for property
4. Regular, visible presence of school principal
5. Involvement of school principal in community activities
6. School curriculum revision
7. Improved student-custodian relationships
8. Improved school-community relationships
9. Reorganization of large schools into schools-within-a-school or

house plans

against graffiti

Reducing Rewards to Offenders
#	Response	How It Works	Works Best If...	Considerations
1	Detecting graffiti rapidly and routinely	Permits rapid removal	…locations are regularly monitored	Requires commitment and resources — efforts should not be piecemeal; can involve employees, police, citizens, hotlines, and other means
2	Removing graffiti rapidly	Reduces time graffiti is visible, thus thwarting offenders' objective of having graffiti be widely seen	…removal is very quick and consistent	Removal may be expensive, difficult and/or coercive (e.g., victims, as well as offenders, may be sanctioned)
Increasing the Risk of Detection
3	Increasing natural observation of graffiti-prone locations	Increases risk of detection	…graffiti occurs in low-visibility places	Efforts to improve lighting, reduce shrubbery and improve sight lines are most effective if the area is not isolated for long periods of time
4	Increasing formal observation of graffiti-prone locations	Increases risk of detection; information can aid investigations	…there are high- risk hot spots	Can use undercover personnel, other employees and electronic means; easily available; can be used on transit systems
5	Increasing electronic security	Increases risk of detection	…offenders are targeting large areas such as transit lots	Can be cost effective; information can aid investigations
6	Conducting publicity campaigns	Increases risk of detection	…information is widely disseminated, and risk of detection increases	May contribute to increased graffiti reports and extend deterrent effect
Increasing the Difficulty of Offending
7	Vandal-proofing graffiti-prone locations	Increases difficulty of applying graffiti (may also decrease graffiti visibility, reducing motives); some methods facilitate removal	…there are chronic graffiti locations	Can be expensive if done retroactively; offenders may change their methods or targets; may stimulate and challenge offenders; some measures, such as using grooved, slanted or heavily textured walls, or otherwise unappealing graffiti surfaces, can be very effective; may be unsightly
8	Controlling access to graffiti-prone locations	Makes it more difficult to access or vandalize properties	…property or operations can support design changes	May be expensive, but very effective; may best be incorporated into construction and planning designs; most effective if behaviour is also regulated, such as in apartment complexes or transit stations
9	Focusing on chronic offenders	Increases risk of detection of prolific graffiti offenders	…there is a small group of chronic offenders	Requires offender identification and follow-up
Responses With Limited Effectiveness
10	Controlling graffiti tools	Makes it more difficult for offenders to get paint or markers	…offenders are easily deterred, and merchants comply	Difficult to enforce; offenders can seek tools elsewhere; tools are easily accessed, transported and hidden
11	Channelling behaviour into more acceptable activities	Intended to provide creative outlets	…offenders are artistically motivated	Graffiti boards and walls can be placed in highly visible locations; they appear to attract little vandalism; they may not attract the target group
12	Providing alternative activities and services	Intended to engage and provide supervision to youth	….offenders are jobless, bored or unsupervised	Difficult to identify and involve chronic offenders; programs may be expensive.
13	Involving youth in developing programs	Intended to tap offenders' consciences and create ownership	…offenders are not highly invested in the graffiti lifestyle	Little deterrent effect for chronic offenders
14	Expanding applicable laws	Increases threat of punishment to deter offenders	…laws target particular problems	Can be time consuming; offenders believe they won't get caught, so they don't worry about punishment
15	Holding parents accountable	Involves parents in controlling offenders' behaviour	….offenders are juveniles	Offenders can often hide behaviour from parents; parents may have little control
16	Increasing sanctions for offenders	Raises the risks associated with graffiti	…combined with investigative enforcement activities	Because apprehension of offenders is low, may have little deterrent effect; sanctions should be applied systematically; requires collaboration with prosecutors and judges; can consist of fines, community service or loss of driver's license
17	Applying new technologies	Reduces motives, deflects or diverts offenders, or increases detection	…the technology fits the problem	May be expensive and require substantial adaptation or experimentation
18	Establishing juvenile curfews	Increases the risk of detection for certain offenders	…graffiti typically occurs late at night, and offenders are juveniles	Difficult to enforce
19	Warning offenders	Intended to increase fear of detection	…detection is increased, and consequences are unpleasant	Apprehension of offenders is low; warnings of dire consequences may not be effective