Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) includes which of the following design strategies to reduce crime?

• A. Increased patrols
• B. Installing surveillance cameras only
• C. Natural surveillance
• D. Routine signage distribution

Answer: (C)

Natural surveillance is the design approach CPTED uses to deter crime by making spaces easy to observe. When the built environment offers clear sightlines, welcoming frontages, adequate lighting, and active uses near streets or public areas, people—neighbors, shopkeepers, pedestrians—watch over the space simply by being present. That visibility increases the perceived risk of getting caught, which reduces opportunities for crime without needing to rely on patrols or cameras.

In contrast, increasing patrols is about police presence rather than shaping the environment; installing cameras focuses on technology rather than un-obstructed observation by the public, and routine signage alone doesn’t create the observation or control of activity that deters crime.