TAMPA, Fla. — Neighborhood associations across East Tampa are exploring a multi-dimensional concept for curbing crime.
It’s called Crime Prevention through Environmental Design.
During its first meeting of 2025, Tampa’s Community Redevelopment Agency discussed strategies to address design flaws contributing to crime.
Dayna Lazurus draws on her experience in urban planning when brainstorming ideas about what communities like Seminole Heights, Ybor City and East Tampa might want and need to reduce crime and enhance public safety.
“There’s no sidewalk on this road, so that right there is a lack of safety,” said Lazarus, who is a committee member for the East Tampa CRA.
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design is a set of strategies that use design elements to discourage crime. The goal is to create a physical environment that positively influences people’s behavior. According to the Florida Crime Prevention Institute, street lighting may encourage increased street usage. That enhances natural surveillance.
“It’s very high up on these light polls, and so it creates this low level of filtered light, and that’s enough that if you are driving a car, you can see the lines in the road. But it’s not safe for bicyclists and pedestrians,” said Lazarus.
Lazurus has been appointed as a new committee member of East Tampa’s Community Redevelopment Agency, which aims to implement the CPTED theory in practice.
“The best way to do it,” she added.
Tampa Police Detective Andrew Washington is CPTED certified through the Florida Crime Prevention Institute and plans to introduce the model to all neighborhood associations. The model itself is not a one-size-fits-all solution.
Reducing and eliminating the opportunity for crime varies from neighborhood to neighborhood in Tampa. That's why the Tampa CRA will be seeking input from community members.
Engaging the community aligns with ‘community culture’, another CPTED strategy to cultivate a sense of identity and pride among residents.
“The idea of improving community safety through design, so that it allows the community to better be able to keep an eye on itself and look out for each other is the best possible thing to do in my book,” said Lazarus.
The Tampa CRA aims to involve every neighbourhood association by March of this year. The Florida State Attorney General’s Office sponsors the ‘Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design’ course, which consists of 64 hours of training.
