WHAT IS SECURED BY DESIGN?

Secured by Design (SBD) is the official police security initiative that works to improve the security of buildings and their immediate surroundings to provide safe places to live, work, shop and visit.

It is important for buildings of all types to be physically secure to deter criminal activity and reduce crime. SBD has worked with manufacturers, the construction industry and standards authorities for many years to ensure that security standards are current and updated to keep pace with emerging crime trends.

Today, SBD has more than 700 member companies with thousands of products that have achieved our Police Preferred Specification.

Our membership recognises that products not only have been tested to relevant security standards but also fully certified by an independent third-party certification body accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).

Independent certification involves both initial testing of the products and regular re-tests as well as inspections of the manufacturer’s production facility to ensure the correct processes are maintained constantly over time to provide a more secure and reliable product. This goes beyond the level of security called for within Part Q of the Building Regulations in England 2010, which became effective in October 2015.

PAS24:2016 must be supported by performance standards relevant to the materials used:

• BS 4873, 2016 Specification for aluminium windows
• BS 7412, 2007 Specification for plastic windows made from PVC-U extruded hollow profiles
• BS 644:2012 Timber windows and doorsets. Fully finished factory-assembled windows and doorsets of various types
• BWF: TWA Timber window accreditation scheme
• BS 6510, 2010 Specification for steel-framed windows and glazed doors
• LPS 1270 Burglary resistance of security glazing and glazing films
• Based on LPS 1175, this standard enables specifiers to select glazing films that offer resistance to manual attack equivalent to the building products in which the glass or film is to be used

Products must also be tested to PAS 24 standards.

• SBD developments (those using products and materials that meet Secure by Design Standards) are up to 75% less likely to be burgled and show a reduction of 25% in criminal damage.
• The additional cost of using Secured by Design standards in the average home is only around £170.
• The Association of British Insurers has estimated that the introduction of SBD standards across the UK would bring more than £3.2 billion worth of savings to the economy over 20 years.
• Householders who aren’t offered security recommendations after a burglary are 69% more likely to suffer a repeat incident than those who are offered advice.
• High crime is one reason why people move home. One survey noted that 5.3 million people said that concern about crime levels and a desire to move to a safer location was their main reason for moving home.
• The London 2012 Olympic Park and the 2014 Commonwealth Games Village were both awarded full Secured by Design status.
• A study of Glasgow Housing Association properties claimed that there had been a saving of £18,304 in the research area due (in some part at least) to the introduction of SBD.
• Secured By Design installation pays for itself in at the most two years in saved costs of crime with two alternative methods of measurement suggesting shorter periods of as little as eight months.