Curbing school violence by improving building design

Hushen was speaking at the opening of a four-day workshop on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) at the Mucurapo East Secondary School in Woodbrook on Tuesday.

He said simple, cost-effective building management could go a long way in reducing crime in schools and surrounding communities by eliminating “blind-spots” within the school compound and effective positioning of guard booths to maximise visibility.

“Our aim is to redesign school compounds to deter crime and criminals,” Hushen said.

“We intend to make it difficult for the offender to commit a crime by improving visibility so they are discouraged from frequenting that particular spot and is forced to go elsewhere.

“While fortifying buildings through the use of electrified fences and barbed wire might seem like the obvious solution to crime, it does not address the causes of crime and criminality and that is what we also intend to do with this workshop.” After his presentation, Sunday Newsday spoke with Hushen who expressed optimism that CPTED and similar community-based approaches would go a long way in not only ending crime within school districts but also reducing school violence among students.

“CPTED applies not only to crimes per se but also to undesirable activities. It’s a part of bringing students, staff and security personnel into a more inclusive role in the planning and management process.” Hushen said the NICP has worked with Deloitte Trinidad in the past in advising the construction and development of certain structures at the Hyatt waterfront and East Port-of-Spain and said the approach has enjoyed some progress in reducing criminal activities in these areas.

Sunday Newsday also spoke with Dr. Ravi Rampersad of Deloitte Trinidad who said he was overwhelmed by the response of stakeholders to the workshop and was confident the event would serve as an important opportunity for networking between residents, police officers, Ministry officials and teaching staff, citing the importance of including stakeholders in every stage of the decision- making process.

“We’re very satisfied with the response we’ve received from the teachers and the officials from the Ministry of Education. We also have several officials from the Inter Agency Task Force and the Diego Martin Regional Corporation who have been very open to our recommendations and advice.”