MOHD AZLAN BIN CHE AZIZ

202207050008
CLASS ACTIVITY

1. Which theory is suitable and applicable to be adopted to overcome a crime issue in

Malaysia and example of the case?

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design’ (CPTED) is a crime prevention theory

focusing on tactical design and the effective use of the built environment, which when applied,
reduces both crime and the fear of crime. A main objective of CPTED is to reduce/remove the
opportunity for crime to occur in an environment, and promote positive interaction with the
space by legitimate users. CPTED is a preventative, pro-active model, and not a reactive one.
Controlling the accessibility of a road or an area contributes to a sense of territoriality, resulting
in effective crime prevention. Humans are used to establishing hierarchies or territories that
range from private to semi-private to public space by marking their turf using fences, signs, and
plain border definition. The most common are fencing and walling for separating physical space
to create safety as well as a sense of safety.

The first program of crime prevention in Malaysia was the Safe City launched in 2004
which consist of 23 steps for the first action and 15 steps on the second movement. The earlier
Safe City action was using CPTED strategies as crime prevention. However, the crime rate
obtained from the RMP by the researcher did not show positive results compared with
the years of CPTED implementation. It is important to ensure the success of CPTED
implementation in providing a better quality of life to the people in Kuala Lumpur.Several
methods have been introduced to achieve the effective physical environment in the
implementation of the Safe City. A safe city can be achieved by a designing the environment
with the safety as a major focus and providing a quality of planning layout. Environmental
Design Initiatives is a strategy that was implemented by the JPBD to create a physical
design environment that helps in preventing and combating criminal activities from
occurring. In Malaysia, the national budget for 2010 was presented bythe Prime Minister
YAB Dato‟ Sri Mohammad Najib Tun Razak, which an amount of RM3.7 billion was
allocated for the crime prevention program. However, the amount allocated is only focused
on the provision to enhance the efficiency of security personnel, including providing modern and

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sophisticated equipment. It aims to achieve the crime reduction target of 5 per cent at the end of
2010. The CPTED Implementation Guide was introduced in March 2011.

Next, the theory that can be adopted is the broken windows theory. This theory is based on
the proposition that small issues should be handled carefully rather than letting them happen and
creating significant future problems. Reference has posited that disorder and crime are usually
inextricably linked at the community level. Thus, everything, including the environment, should
be kept to help reduce crime and the fear of crime. Disorder, e.g., the unattended property, is a
fair game for people who are out for fun or to plunder, as it carries a “no one cares” signal. Thus,
minor vandalism may begin and culminate in significant destructions. Disorder indicates that
untended behaviors will likely lead to the breakdown of community controls. Vandalism occurs
once communal barriers, i.e., a sense of mutual regard and civility obligations, are lowered by
actions that seem to signal that no one cares.

This approach could be applied in the Safe City Program in Malaysia by involving police
officers in frequent foot-patrolling activities and manning the police station or patrolling in
vehicles. Another practice to learn from the broken windows theory is promoting community
policing projects that benefit the police-citizen relationship. This is a form of informal social
control mechanism, and it is suitable for building trust and developing better local order
maintenance rules in Malaysia.