Secured by Design at London Build 2025

Visit us at Stand L10 to discover how the UK Police Service’s Secured by Design initiative integrates security into design and construction, helping to create safer, more resilient and sustainable communities.

36 Years of Designing Out Crime

Founded in 1989, SBD emerged in response to the rapid housing expansion of the 1960s-80s, when many estates were built quickly and cheaply but often lacking even basic security. The consequences were clear: burglary rates soared, peaking at 1.8 million offences per year by 1996.

Recognising the urgent need for better design and security standards, the Police Service established Secured by Design to embed crime prevention principles into the built environment. Today, SBD works closely with architects, developers, local authorities and housing associations, ensuring crime prevention is considered from the design phase through to completion.

Embedded across the UK Police Service, Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCOs) provide free expert guidance to help incorporate police crime prevention standards into developments of all sizes.

Contact details for local Designing Out Crime Officers across the UK can be found here.

Designing Out Crime from the Start

The most effective time to reduce crime is before a development is built, when plans are still on the drawing board. Simple design changes, such as reorienting a building or restricting access to vulnerable areas, can make a huge difference.

Good design doesn’t have to cost more. In fact, evidence shows that poorly designed environments can lead to long-term costs associated with crime and anti-social behaviour - costs that could be avoided through smarter design choices early on.

Developers can achieve SBD awards for embedding crime prevention principles into developments across multiple sectors, including residential, education, healthcare, transport, retail, sport and leisure. These awards can also support compliance with Part Q of the English Building Regulations, Scottish Building Standard 4.13 and Welsh Building Regulations Part Q.

SBD Design Guides, a valuable source of reference to architects, developers, self-builders and local authority planners are available to download for free on the SBD website.

Over a Million Safer Properties

To date, over one million homes and commercial properties have been built to SBD standards, achieving crime reductions of up to 87%. Many local authorities now require SBD standards within their planning policies.

Research consistently shows that improving security in new and refurbished properties reduces crime and fear of crime, contributing to better physical and mental well-being. The built environment shapes how people interact, so SBD seeks to create spaces where law-abiding individuals feel safe and criminals feel exposed.

Training for Architects & Planners

Architects and Town Planners can request a professional development session on crime prevention and designing out crime from SBD. The presentation content includes relevant legislation, policy and guidance, an overview of property crime trends, an evaluation of why crime occurs and an introduction to SBD.

SBD National Building Approval (NBA)

SBD NBA is a designing out crime initiative for developers and those commissioning new-build developments or major refurbishment schemes. It is a one-size-fits-all security compliance solution.

SBD NBA is open to anyone involved in the commissioning of new developments and refurbishments, whether directly (such as a building developer) or as a specifier (such as a Housing Association or Local Authority).

The process of gaining membership creates a bespoke Technical Schedule for each developer or specifier. This schedule provides a description of how SBD’s requirement for physical security will be met for any building or buildings within current or future developments.

In a nutshell, SBD do full due diligence on a member’s supply chain to ensure that their products meet stipulated security criteria and issue an award that not only shows that they take security seriously, but may also discharge their legal requirements for physical security.

There are many advantages to this approach, but chief amongst them is the ability for an SBD NBA member to use the Technical Schedule anywhere in the United Kingdom, safe in the knowledge that it will be accepted by all police forces - it guarantees that a Secured by Design award will be made.

Find out more about SBD NBA membership here. 

Product based accreditation scheme

SBD has worked with businesses, the construction industry and standards authorities at home and abroad for many years, leading SBD to develop a product based police accreditation scheme 26 years ago - the Police Preferred Specification.

Products that have met the Police Preferred Specification provide reassurance to the specifier, purchaser or user that the products have been independently tested to a relevant security standard and fully certified by an independent third-party certification body recognised by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), or tested and certified by an alternative approved body such as Sold Secure or Thatcham.

The SBD focus is on the critical factors that combine to deliver a product’s performance - design, use, quality control and the ability to deter or prevent crime. Better quality means these products last longer too, making them more cost effective and leading to greater sustainability in crime prevention.

Visit Us at London Build 2025

Join us at Stand L10 at London Build 2025 to learn more about how Secured by Design is shaping the future of safer communities through smarter design, higher standards and trusted collaboration.

Find out more at securedbydesign.com