FACTORS AFFECTING ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN FOR CRIME PREVENTION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

It has been acknowledged by researchers and practitioners of crime prevention that design is an important tool that could be used to prevent crime and reduce fear of crime while increasing sense of community. This paper assesses the factors that hinder architects in Nigeria from addressing issues of crime prevention holistically in their designs. Survey research method was adopted for the study. 132 questionnaires were administered to architects in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States of Nigeria. The results show that majority of the respondents (85.1%) strongly agree or agree that architects have a role in crime prevention. It reveals the major hindrances to architectural design for crime prevention to include lack of documented examples and no crime prevention requirements in planning and building regulations in Nigeria among others. The paper concludes that these factors have major effects on the ability of Nigerian architects to design against crime because architectural design is knowledge dependent and knowledge driven. It recommends that physical security concepts and crime prevention through environmental design should be made part of formal architectural education training and/or professional continuing development programme.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sace.18.1.17348