Can burglary prevention be low-carbon and effective? Investigating the environmental performance of burglary prevention measures

Public concern for the environment is a topical issue; global climate change, in particular, has been identified as one of the greatest challenges of our time (United Nations 2016). Emissions of greenhouse gases, predominantly carbon dioxide (CO₂), resulting from human activities, are becoming an increasing problem and have recently reached the ‘highest levels in history’, producing widespread impacts on human and natural systems (Pachauri et al. 2014). Climate change is therefore a global and pressing issue, and the Paris Agreement (UNFCC 2015), which is signed by nearly 200 countries, calls for global greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced. There is a clear need therefore for governments, businesses and individuals to consider their environmental impacts wherever possible. In the UK, the commitment to reduce emissions is enshrined in law through the Climate Change Act (Climate Change Act 2008), and it is important that this permeates all policy areas, including crime prevention (Pease 2009).

The benefits of crime prevention are obvious in terms of reduced burden on society and the economy. Preventing crime saves lives, improves wellbeing, and limits costs associated with property being lost, damaged or wasted (HMIC 2014). Savings are also made in terms of time, work and money expended on dealing with the consequences of crime. The launch of the Modern Crime Prevention Strategy by the Home Office (UK Government department), for example, clearly demonstrates that prevention is a key priority of Government policy (Home Office 2016).

Savings offered by crime prevention, however, may be more than just financial. A study into the carbon cost of crime conducted by Pease (2009) demonstrated that crime could have a substantial impact on the environment in terms of a large carbon footprint and introduced the idea that ‘it would be difficult to envisage a high crime society being a low carbon society’ (Page 3). A follow-up study by Skudder et al. (2016) went further to produce a detailed assessment of the carbon emitted from criminal activity each year in England and Wales, which was estimated at around four million tonnes CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalents) (Skudder et al. 2016). This begs the question whether crime prevention measures produce less carbon than the crimes they prevent. If they do then they potentially provide additional benefits that have previously been overlooked.

In this study, we assess the carbon emissions associated with crime prevention measures. This is believed to be the first attempt to help inform crime prevention specialists of the environmental impact of burglary prevention products and enable comparisons with the carbon emissions of the crimes they aim to prevent. We focus in particular on those measures associated with preventing domestic burglary, as this has been shown to be the offence with the largest overall contribution to the total carbon footprint of crime, accounting for over 30% of emissions (Skudder et al. 2016). Households in England and Wales rely on a number of security devices to protect them from burglary. The most popular being locks on doors and windows, security lighting, burglar alarms and security chains (ONS 2013). Other forms of security such as CCTV systems are rare in private households (Tseloni et al. 2014, Table 2) but may be increasing in popularity. However, not all devices and their combinations can prevent domestic burglary to the same extent (Tseloni et al. 2014). In this study, we identify those security measures, both individually and used in combination, that are the least (and most) carbon intensive. We then compare the carbon costs of each measure with a measure of their effectiveness, known as the security protection factor (SPF) (Tseloni et al. 2014). This allows us to identify win–win measures in terms of security and environmental performance, i.e. measures that are effective at reducing the number of offences that occur, and that also have low emissions associated with this preventative measure.

Households with no security measures in place are five times more likely to be burgled than those with modest security measures (police.uk 2016). In particular, the growth of security measures in households and the increasing emphasis on private security have been linked to the drop in property offences (Aebi and Linde 2010; Clarke and Newman 2006; Van Dijk 2007; Vollaard and Van Ours 2011). The increased amount of security devices installed in homes and businesses has also recently been found to be the most likely explanation responsible for the drop in crime since the mid 1990s (Farrell et al. 2014) .

Crime prevention advice from the UK’s crime mapping website, police.uk, aims to help households prevent burglary where possible. There are varying types of security for households to implement in order to prevent burglaries from occurring. Alongside routine actions such as keeping doors and windows locked in unoccupied houses, hiding keys out of sight, securing bikes and ensuring gates and fencing are in good condition, the use of good window locks, strong deadlocks and installing a visual burglar alarm along with good outside lighting are encouraged (police.uk 2016). Welsh and Farrington (1999) found that a combination of interventions is needed to impact certain categories of crime. This is because, for example, alarms on their own are ineffective as a prevention measure and a combination of interventions is needed to be successful (Tilley et al. 2015).

Tseloni et al. (2014) explored the presence of security devices and burglary risks in order to establish the effectiveness of each device type, both individually and when used in combination with others. To this end, the study employed population-based data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) from 2008/2009 to 2011/2012 detailing the use of security devices within homes, to produce a SPF for each device type. The SPF was calculated using a Security Impact Assessment Tool (SIAT), initially developed to test the effectiveness of security measures against car theft (Farrell et al. 2011). The SIAT compares the overall burglary risk to the burglary risk of households without security and those with particular security devices (either individual devices or combinations). The SPF values therefore indicate the level of security conferred relative to the absence of security devices. The burglary security measures examined included door and window locks, security chains, burglar alarms, indoor and external lights, window grilles or bars, dummy alarms and CCTV systems. They found that external lights or door locks offered the highest protection against burglary of households relying on a single security device. One of the most effective combinations of devices included window and door locks, indoor and external lighting (known as WIDE—referred to as EIWD in Tseloni et al’s. study), which afforded 49 times more protection against burglary than no security (Tseloni et al. 2014). Rather surprisingly, however, alarms in properties without any other device slightly increased burglary risk compared to no security. Furthermore, adding a burglar alarm reduced the overall preventive effectiveness of most security combinations. Tilley et al. (2015) highlighted that burglar alarms, although having high plausibility to prevent burglary, are unlike door or window locks, as they do not create a physical obstacle to burglary. Also alarms do not increase the risk to a potential burglar approaching the target property, as would be the case with external lights or CCTV. Alarms may indeed act as flags for criminals to target properties or they may simply be installed but not used; or, if triggered, they are ignored by neighbours, passers-by and the police, making them ineffective (Tilley et al. 2015).

Increased security adds value in terms of social and economic benefits as people avoid becoming victims (Clarke and Weisburd 1994). An opinion poll concerning desirable factors in the design of homes indicated that ‘security against crime’ was the most important factor (Mori Social Research Institute 2002). Nationwide crime prevention initiatives, such as Secured by Design (SBD), therefore aim to encourage the building industry to design out crime at the planning stage and encourage businesses and households to implement Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles where possible. SBD advice and guidance relating to these principles is proven to reduce the chance of burglary by up to 75% (Secured by Design 2015). CPTED has evolved over many years and is based on many early studies (Angel 1968; Clarke and Mayhew 1980; Gardiner 1978; Jacobs 2010; Jeffery 1971; Lynch 1960; Newman 1973; Poyner 1983). The five essential elements of CPTED include surveillance, access, territoriality, management and maintenance, and physical security. Although crime prevention initiatives, such as SBD, do not rely solely upon physical security, the standards set to which doors, windows, fences and other household products must adhere suggest that physical security is viewed as a crucial factor (Armitage and Monchuk 2009a). The recent update of the building regulations in England has included a section on household security, known as approved document Q (HM Government 2015), which prescribes standards to which windows and doors must adhere, addressing the ‘access’ and ‘physical security’ principles, although these only apply to newly built homes.

The environmental benefits or pitfalls, however, of increased security have yet to be explored in any great detail despite a clear relationship between crime prevention and environmental considerations in the pursuit of sustainability. Cozens (2007) recommended that researching areas of potential conflict between ecological sustainability and designing out crime would aid urban sustainable development efforts. Existing guidance relating to community safety highlights that designing out crime should be central to the planning and delivery of new developments, in order to ensure sustainable communities, where crime and disorder do not undermine quality of life or community cohesion (Home Office 2004). As part of Pease’s (2009) study to estimate the carbon cost of crime and its implications, it was concluded that further improvement in designing out crime from environments was needed for crime reduction to take its place in the greening of social policy (Page 4). Armitage et al. (2008) assessed the conflicts and synergies between SBD accreditation (ensuring that new homes/developments implement CPTED principles and design out crime where possible) and the UK’s Code for Sustainable Homes¹ (a national standard for the construction and design of new homes). Encouragingly, the study did not identify any features of sustainable design that would prevent a development from achieving the SBD accreditation and equally, no features of SBD security were identified which would make it difficult to achieve a high rating on the Code for Sustainable Homes. Implementing SBD principles therefore does not prevent a developer from achieving high levels of sustainability and vice versa. Armitage and Monchuk (2009b) suggested that poorly designed areas which require premature refurbishment and regeneration, along with additional costs derived from moving home from crime-challenged areas, may have an increased carbon footprint. Pease (2009) adds to this discussion with the assertion that the costs, both fiscal and carbon, of crime reduction through SBD compliance could be recovered over a period as short as four years. Well-known environmental assessment schemes such as BREEAM (although not exclusive to homes) include credits awarded for safe access and the security of the site or building (BRE 2016). This again demonstrates the synergies that already exist between sustainability and security, but the more specific analysis of individual crime prevention measures in terms of environmental impact is still to be developed fully.

In order to justify the use of crime prevention measures, it is important that the benefits outweigh the costs involved. These can either be economic, social or environmental costs/benefits and each are important to consider as part of decision making when assessing security requirements. The Home Office use a national database to estimate the economic and social ‘cost of crime’, and the most recent estimates present the monetised cost of domestic burglary (in a dwelling) to be around £4000 (Home Office & Ministry of Justice 2011). This monetised figure includes the physical and emotional impact on victims (£800), average value of property stolen or damaged (£1200), the cost of police investigations (£700), the cost of other criminal justice system services such as courts, probation and prison services (£700) and the costs associated with anticipation of the offence including defensive expenditure and insurance (£400).

A recent study added to this body of research by estimating an intangible environmental cost of crime, in the form of a carbon footprint. In order to estimate the carbon arising from crime, conversion factors that estimated the carbon emissions associated with spending in different sectors of the economy were applied to the monetised cost of crime estimates (Skudder et al. 2016). The carbon footprint attributed to an incident of domestic burglary was estimated to be just over 1 tonne (1154 kg) CO₂e, equivalent to around 2750 miles of driving an average passenger car. These emissions arose from several sources, including defensive spending (150 kg), policing (190 kg), replacing stolen or damaged property (550 kg) and the criminal justice system, including courts, probation and other services (120 kg). We use this carbon footprint estimate of burglary from Skudder et al. (2016) as the baseline against which the environmental impact of burglary prevention measures is compared.

In this study, we established the carbon footprint of commonly considered burglary prevention measures and compared these to the footprint of an incidence of burglary. The footprints are estimated using data from environmental declarations scaled up to an average household footprint by multiplying by the number of measures expected in a typical household.² We estimated the footprint of both individual measures and those used in combinations within households. We also compared the environmental performance of the measures with an indicator of their effectiveness, their SPF, estimated by Tseloni et al. (2014), to establish which measure, or combinations of measures, were most preferable if effective and low-carbon burglary prevention is required.

The measures studied included those in the Crime Prevention Module of the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW): door double locks or deadlocks, window locks, external lights on a timer or sensor, indoor lights on a timer or sensor, CCTV, burglar alarms and security chains.³ Where no environmental information was found relating to specific measures, it was not estimated. We highlighted these products in order to recommend that companies address these gaps. Details of the steps carried out to estimate the carbon footprints of crime prevention measures are described below.

Carbon footprinting crime prevention measures

All products and services have an environmental impact, whether during their production, use or disposal (European Commission 2003). To establish the carbon footprints of burglary prevention products, we used existing studies that consider all carbon emissions associated across all aspects of the product’s life cycle. These studies are known as life cycle assessments (LCAs) and estimate emissions associated with the product from raw material extraction all the way to disposal, including the manufacturing of the product and emissions associated with its use (electricity for example). LCAs also take into account any recycling or re-use applications before final end-of-life disposal. More specifically, in this study, we utilised environmental declarations, which are a standardised type of LCA study, which enable comparisons between products that provide the same function (BSI 2010). Environmental declarations are defined by an international standard (ISO 14025) and are becoming increasingly important as a means of communicating environmental impact data about products in the supply chain. They also, in theory, give contractors and clients more confidence when specifying and procuring products (Ghumra 2016). The declarations summarise details of the environmental impacts of the product under scrutiny, including the global warming potential (GWP—measured in kg CO₂e), for each aspect of the product’s life cycle. Across this life cycle, the total amount of these emissions represent the total embodied carbon (or carbon footprint) of the individual product, which this study used in order to compare products. It should be stressed that the ultimate goal of carbon footprinting is to reduce environmental impacts rather than deliberating on the level of accuracy of the results (RICS 2012).

There are a variety of environmental declaration schemes across industrial sectors, such as EcoLeaf, eco-profile, environmental product declarations (EPD), environmental profiles and product environment profiles (PEP) (BSI 2010). EPDs, for example, cover products related to the construction industry, whereas Ecoleaf and PEPs cover electronic products. An example of the results provided within an EPD is given in Fig. 1.

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The use of existing environmental declarations had its advantages: first, it negated the necessity to perform new LCA studies for the specific products of focus (performing LCAs are time-consuming, data intensive, expensive and can include the challenge of commercially sensitive data). Also, as environmental declarations follow a set of strict rules and standards, their results make them suitable for comparison across products, and thus help inform choices between which burglary prevention measures are the most suitable.

The social and economic benefits of reducing crime are well understood, but the potential environmental benefits are yet to be developed fully (Pease 2009; Skudder et al. 2016). Actions taken to prevent crime are not exempt from the current global effort to reduce emissions. The aim of this study was to estimate the carbon impact of burglary prevention measures and identify those that are both low-carbon and effective. By analysing environmental declarations of commonly used burglary prevention products, we have estimated the average carbon footprint of various measures, including door and window locks, security lighting, burglar alarms and CCTV systems. This study is believed to be the first review of carbon footprint information related to burglary prevention measures.

We have highlighted that in terms of environmental impact, burglary prevention measures installed in households have relatively small carbon footprints (between 12 and 400 kg CO₂e) with no individual measure exceeding the carbon footprint associated with an incidence of burglary (1000 kg CO₂e). All individual measures considered produce less than half the emissions associated with a burglary, and in some cases, produced over 80 times fewer emissions than a single burglary, showing potential carbon paybacks if burglaries can be avoided by implementing these measures. Only two combinations of measures (one with five measures and one with six) exceeded the footprint of a burglary.

Of course, the desirability of these measures is subject to their effectiveness at preventing burglaries from occurring. We therefore plotted the carbon payback ratio (footprint of burglary over the footprint of the measure) alongside an effectiveness indicator (the security protection factor or SPF). When burglary prevention measures are used in isolation, window locks, indoor lighting and door locks are found to be the most desirable as they are highest on the environmental performance scale (with higher carbon payback ratios) and highest on the effectiveness scale. When combinations of measures were analysed, the most desirable combinations include window locks, door locks, indoor and external lighting (WIDE). The least desirable combinations (lower environmental performance and lower effectiveness) were those that included burglar alarms.

Our study is believed to be the first to help inform crime prevention specialists of the environmental impact of burglary prevention products and enable comparisons with the carbon emissions of the crimes they aim to prevent. We have shown that effective burglary prevention does not have a significant carbon footprint when compared to the emissions associated with burglaries that can be prevented. Window locks are found to be the most effective and low-carbon measure available individually. Combinations of window locks, door locks, external and indoor lighting (WIDE) are also shown to be effective and low-carbon. Burglar alarms and CCTV do not perform as strongly, with higher carbon footprints and lower security against burglary.

We have also shown that crime prevention measures may be able to offer more than monetary savings or reduced social impacts, as it is clear that careful choice of burglary prevention measures can save carbon emissions, whilst still ensuring a secure and safe home. It is encouraging that the security industry as a whole is beginning to pay attention to environmental impacts, as shown by the availability of environmental declarations related to burglary prevention measures. In future, there will be a greater need to consider environmental impacts and substantial emission reductions are required, in particular, over the next few decades to reduce climate risks (Pachauri et al. 2014)

Our findings are of considerable benefit to security professionals by highlighting that crime prevention measures have varying environmental costs, and that the most successful security measures are not necessarily the most carbon costly. In fact, the opposite is true, with many of the most successful security measures having a comparatively small carbon footprint, enabling security professionals to make win–win choices. This information could also be incorporated into future house building and renovation guidelines. There is already a need to consider the environmental impact of housing, but connecting this to crime prevention/security represents an additional benefit. For example, the opportunity to install security measures (better locks) could be combined with installation of energy saving or other environmentally friendly initiatives (double glazing).

The results presented in this paper also raise awareness of sustainability issues as part of security choices and offer an important contribution towards a growing connection between security and sustainability agendas. Cozens (2007), for example, highlighted an explicit need to integrate crime issues within sustainability frameworks. Also, Armitage and Gamman (2009) highlighted the importance of ensuring that any steps forward for the green agenda, such as minimising carbon emissions, do not present a step back for the crime agenda (and vice versa). We have shown that sustainability can be considered alongside security choices and that win–win measures (in terms of security and low-carbon) can be chosen to minimise impacts whilst not compromising safety.

As both security and sustainability considerations are often neglected in the face of economic pressures (with the exception of national security/national infrastructure concerns), awareness of these issues between sustainability and security professionals is essential to avoid long-lasting damage to the environment and risks to community safety.

We understand that security choices around the home are made in various ways, and it is unlikely that the carbon footprint of these products will be a deciding factor alone. But, if it is possible to secure homes against burglary while minimising the environmental impact, then low-carbon measures may be more favourable to householders concerned about the environment. We hope that by highlighting the footprints of common burglary prevention measures, this may help inform these choices further in the future and also advocate further research into these and other environmental impacts of crime prevention measures.