Chuck Sczuroski, a senior trainer with the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), explains the while CPTED techniques are not new ideas, the process for implementing them is. "It's a process for layering crime prevention, reinforcing several traditional strategies," he says.
A 20-year police veteran, Sczuroski travels the country providing various forms of crime prevention training to communities, and he has seen a marked increase in the number of park professionals at his CPTED classes over the past three years. Most of the park attendees are concerned about vandalism, he says, and they are wondering if the graffiti appearing in their parks is gang-related or just by kids. With budget cuts, more and more parks are turning off their lights at night, and small urban playgrounds have felt the brunt of increased vandalism.