Thoughtful campus design can prevent learning environments from becoming crime hot spots. The problem is that safeguarding students and faculty members from internal and external nefarious characters is challenging. Fortunately, embracing security landscaping measures can deter criminal activity in educational institutions. Discover how to maximize campus landscape architecture to boost security using the core principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED).

Unique Security Challenges Campuses Face

Promoting security and safety in educational facilities can be a pain for these reasons:

• Expansive acreage: Some colleges and universities occupy vast areas. For instance, Berry College in Georgia is a contiguous college on over 27,000 acres — the largest in the world.
• Large populations: Schools can have tens of thousands of students and employees.
• Communication hindrances: News travels more slowly across educational institutions scattered across long distances.
• Danger zones: Certain areas create optimal conditions for perpetrators to carry out their plans. For instance, parking lots tend to be crime hot spots because they typically have limited natural surveillance and poorly restricted access, and minimally support visual communication.

Mindful landscape design helps mitigate these realities, enabling school administration personnel and law enforcement officers to secure campuses day and night more effectively.

6 Ways to Elevate Campus Security With Landscaping

CPTED proponents advocate these six security landscaping measures to make campuses less desirable targets for lawbreakers.

1. Delineate Campus Boundaries

Territoriality is one of the pillars of CPTED. Clearly defining where the school premises begin and end reinforces a sense of ownership and control over the space. Unmistakable borders and visible signage compel legitimate users to follow expected travel patterns.

Physical barriers like fences and gates underpin perimeter security design, controlling access and guiding movement. Such obstacles channel malicious individuals to proper entry and exit points, preventing them from entering and leaving the premises undetected and discouraging them from going where they shouldn’t.

2. Illuminate All Dark Spots

Darkness can obscure the activity and identity of criminals. Strategic placement of security lighting for campuses can solve this issue only if you can identify pitch-black or dimly lit areas across the school at night.

This feat is more feasible in smaller schools, such as the University of New Mexico, which conducted drone surveys to map all dark spots across its property. The findings enabled the school administration to make informed decisions about outdoor illumination improvements, enhancing campus safety design while complying with New Mexico’s anti-light-pollution law.

3. Ensure Nonslip, Unobstructed Walkways

Direct, slip-resistant, debris-free and visible pathways designed to be inviting at any time of the day help promote campus safety. They should be convenient to use, not giving anyone a reason to take shortcuts. Informal routes might increase the risk of falling victim to crime.

Well-thought-out campus paths with security lights encourage legitimate activities to occur. They promote the positive uses of communal areas. Increasing the density of legitimate users on campus locations makes it more difficult to commit a crime without being noticed.

4. Deter Criminals With Defensive Plants

Defensive vegetation enhances perimeter security design. Plants with pointy growths — including prickles, spines and thorns — help keep unwanted visitors at bay and create an impression of a well-guarded campus.

For instance, succulents have prickly points, making them excellent walkway hedges. They need little maintenance and can adapt to different climates with proper care.

5. Use Study Trees and Rocks as Bollards

Security landscaping decision-makers can prepare for possible vehicle intrusion with natural barriers. Large boulders in strategic locations lend character to outdoor spaces and can effectively stop high-speed automobiles, protecting pedestrians and building occupants from vehicular assailants.

Massive trees can be highly durable landscaping features. Native species can develop deep root systems as a means of adapting to local conditions, anchoring themselves to the ground to withstand impacts. The only caveat is that this strategy may take a considerable time to bear fruit. Planting native trees from nurseries instead of transplanting more mature ones from the wild increases their survival rates.

6. Keep Vegetation Growth in Check

Overgrowth affects visibility and provides concealment to trespassers, prowlers, and vandals trying to keep a low profile. Regularly mowing campus lawns and pruning trees ensures clear sightlines across the landscape.

Many school administrators prioritize the yard space near buildings, and rightly so. However, every inch of outdoor area should look pristine to let everyone know the landscaping team oversees everything. Machines like commercial robotic grass mowers enable these professionals to conduct lawn care with minimal human oversight, efficiently and precisely.

Increase Campus Security With Strategic Landscape Design

Curbing crime is more challenging when the environment creates desirable conditions for assailants to operate freely. Adopt CPTED to reshape your campus design and keep your learning facilities safe amid the ever-changing school threat landscape.