ATLAS 26 Recognises Development Officer Hazel Goss – A Driving Force in Crime Prevention

SBD Development Officer, Hazel Goss was surprised to be nominated by one of her Designing out Crime Officers (DOCOs) to receive a Special Commendation award at this year’s ATLAS conference.

Police CPI caught up with her to find out more…

Was it a shock when your name was called out?
I wasn’t expecting this at all. You can always tell when I’m surprised as I go bright red! It was really nice to be nominated as I believe I have a very good rapport with a lot of the DOCOs.  They are a lovely bunch, and I genuinely enjoy looking after them. 

How would you describe the ways in which you help the DOCOs?
There’s hardly a day when I’m not on the phone or emailing a DOCO to answer a query or help out. They might need help sourcing a local company for a specialist job, or have a question about certification or concerns about a planning application that has gone in.  

Sometimes I feel like a walking encyclopaedia of standards and if I can’t find the answer to a technical question, I know I can always rely on Alfie Hosker (Technical Manager SBD).

I’m here to help - that’s my job and I really enjoy it. It’s all about relationships at the end of the day and I always say my door is always open.

Which regions do you look after?
I’m responsible for the North West Group -  that’s Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester (including the Isle of Man).
I also look after the All Wales Group, covering South Wales, North Wales, Dyfed-Powys and Gwent.  
On top of that I support Staffordshire and Shropshire.
But really, any DOCO can call me. I’m happy to help if I can.

Apart from answering queries, how else do you help the DOCOS?
I organise around 8-10 ‘Awareness Days’ a year, which I like to describe as a mini-ATLAS. These involve a Secured by Design (SBD) member company hosting a half or full day event, depending on the size of the company, where I visit with a group of DOCOs for one-on-one engagement. It also counts towards the DOCOs Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

Companies often include a presentation about their products with a detailed Q&A session and if it’s a larger company, they put on a lunch followed by a factory tour. Seeing the products being made and understanding the process is always really engaging. Sometimes the companies really go to town and they even throw in a quiz with some fun prizes at the end!

I usually get excellent feedback from both the companies and the DOCOs. My next Awareness Day is in May where I’ll be visiting IAE in Staffordshire who design and manufacture a range of perimeter fencing and gate systems.

What about your regional meetings?
These are important too. We meet every quarter with an agenda and it’s an opportunity to discuss issues, training needs and technical updates with the DOCOs – anything from lock snapping to the latest crime trends. Right now, the theft of oil is a major issue due to the oil crisis and situation in the Middle East.

Every year I also visit my DOCO in the Isle of Man and help host a stand at the annual Southern District Agricultural Show. I usually have a boot full of SBD security products along with public awareness material on crime prevention. It’s a great way to support the DOCO, raise awareness to the public, and I always make time to see my member companies too. It’s usually a packed few days!

What challenges do DOCOs face?
Legislation can also be a concern, given that it’s not compulsory to seek the advice of a DOCO.

Wales is further ahead in terms of legislation and is taking the lead on this. For example, all social housing must be built to SBD standards to help with crime prevention in the built environment. We can only hope England follows the same example.

What do you recommend to DOCOs?
Building relationships is the key. I think DOCOs should make strong links with planners, architects, keeping them updated and visiting them regularly as it’s important that we don’t work in silos. I would also signpost the free Police Crime Prevention Academy courses for them and all the other SBD material, website and products.

How much do you enjoy your job?
I just love what I do. I’m very passionate about crime prevention and SBD. I believe in it, I believe it makes a huge difference and I always have. I’m still as passionate as the day I started because it really does work.

What don’t most colleagues know about you?
Before I joined the police, I was a graphic designer!  I still love to explore my creative side  now and again and on the side I make cakes. I used to bake a lot and get commissions for wedding cakes, birthday and celebration cakes.  These days I mostly do it now for friends and family.

You’ve also got an MBE haven’t you?
I was awarded it in 2008 for my services in the community. When I was a community beat officer, I used to look after some rough estates, and I wanted to help make life better and keep the kids out of trouble. I organised video nights for them and managed to get free snacks and use of the community hall.

To help the community take pride in the area I also organised a gardening competition and got everyone in the area engaged. I went around garden centres, super stores, and businesses you name it to get freebies and support. I’d fill the police van with garden equipment, soil, gravel and plants and get the kids to help distribute it around the estate. My nickname was ‘skip rat’, I even had a T-shirt made with that name. 

In the end it was fantastic, we had a plaque and I took before and after pictures. I had to stop when I got sick with breast cancer – mind you that didn’t quite stop me as I was still taking calls about the garden competition right before I went into surgery!

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What is Secured by Design?

Secured by Design (SBD) is the official police security initiative that works to improve the security of buildings and their immediate surroundings to provide safe places to live, work, shop and visit.

SBD’s product based accreditation scheme – the Police Preferred Specification - provides a recognised standard for all security products that can deter and reduce crime.

There are currently many hundreds of companies producing thousands of attack resistant crime prevention products, across 30 different crime categories, which have achieved Police Preferred Specification.

Improved security

Developers around the UK can achieve SBD awards for incorporating crime prevention measures and techniques into their developments in all kinds of building sectors, such as residential, education, health, transport, commercial, retail, sport and leisure. Indeed, SBD can be used as evidence to discharge third-party obligations under Part Q of Schedule 1 (Security) to the English Building Regulations, the Scottish Building Standard 4.13 (Security) and Welsh Building Regulations Part Q (Security – Dwellings). These awards are gained by working with police Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCOs), who advise architects, developers and local authority planners long before construction begins – and continue to provide advice and guidance until the development is complete.

Academic and other research shows that improving standards of security in brand new and refurbished properties, helps deter and reduce crime. Reducing crime and the fear of crime has direct links to better physical and mental well-being, such as with regard to high volume crimes like domestic abuse.  

The built environment influences the behaviour of people who work, live, socialise or simply pass through. SBD seeks to create environments where the law-abiding feel safe and secure whilst at the same time causing the criminal or anti-social to feel vulnerable to detection and thereby influence behaviour in a positive way. This continues to be a key objective for SBD.

Find out more about Secured by Design Developers Awards here

SBD Design Guides

SBD has produced a series of authoritative Design Guides to assist the building, design and construction industry to incorporate security into developments to comply with the Building Regulations in England, Scotland and Wales and meet the requirements of SBD.

These Design Guides, available to download for free at the SBD website, have been updated over the years to keep pace with changing patterns of criminal behaviour and advances in building design and new technology.

They are a valuable source of reference to architects, developers, self-builders, local authority planners and police officers and cover a range of building sectors, including residential, education, health, transport and commercial.

Police Designing Out Crime Officers

DOCOs provide specialist crime reduction advice to the public, businesses and colleagues about premises or property security. They also work with building developers, architects, and council planning departments regarding new developments and refurbishments, to 'design out' crimes like burglary and anti-social behaviour (ASB) by providing advice on street lighting, building and street layout, entrances and exits - as well as preferred standards and specifications for doors, windows, and locks, under the Secured by Design initiative.

DOCOs are able to deliver site specific interventions required to help design out crime in areas that suffer disproportionately from acquisitive crime, based on local crime pattern analysis, police, local authority and community engagement and the collective knowledge and experience of how criminals behave.
DOCOs are specialist problem solvers, working every day to make a positive difference, changing lives for the better and helping people to be safe and secure in their homes.

Contact details for local DOCOs can be found here.