WESTLOCK - In a well-attended session at the Westlock and District Community Hall, approximately 30 people participated in a free presentation on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CpTED).
The presentation was led and coordinated at the request of Westlock Citizens on Patrol (COP). The event aimed to educate participants on effective strategies to make their properties less appealing to criminals and enhancing community safety.
“This was an informative presentation making residents aware of techniques that could be used to target harden their property, make themselves harder targets,” said Westlock RCMP Staff Sgt. Jeff Sehn.
The session highlighted the importance of the three "L's" of CpTED: locks, lighting, and landscaping. These principles can be applied to both homes and businesses, said Sehn.
Among the key recommendations were the installation of LED lighting to provide sharp and natural light to light up property. In addition, landscaping should be well manicured and maintained and not allow for ambush points or concealing points of entry.
Implementing CpTED isn’t more challenging in older neighbourhoods.
“It just requires the desire for property owners to make updated changes to established properties (ie: landscaping changes, removing old trees if required, upgrading lighting),” said Sehn.
