Virginia Association of Zoning Officials   (http://vazo.org)

Faith Christie is the current president of the Virginia Association of Zoning Officials. She is a Planner II with the Virginia Beach Planning Department. She is also a member of the VCPA CPTED Committee. Remember, by state law in Virginia, one of the purposes of zoning is to protect people from crime (Code of Virginia § 15.2-2283. Purpose of zoning ordinances).

The Virginia Association of Zoning Officials (VAZO) was organized 1990 to perpetuate an organized professional support community for the maintenance of active communication.

Its primary goal is to formulate a healthy organizational network capable of sustaining the goals of the organization that is not reliant on a few individual personalities. In addition, we strive to:

1. Expand the awareness of professional administrators concerning the authority with which their positions are empowered.
2. Provide a reliable communication network for the use of administrators to develop solutions to various zoning problems.
3. Increase the visibility of the organization and develop an identity as a legitimate member of the public administration organizational community.
4. Provide high quality programs to members of the organization with consistently high standards of excellence.
5. Continue to improve member development.
6. Instill on the part of all members a desire to make VAZO the model for future organizations.
7. Develop a mentoring program among Virginia’s zoning officials.

Design Against Crime Research Projects
This is a very interesting site that lists crime prevention research design projects in Great Britain. The picture below shows a chair design to discourage purse theft.

Proposed Standard - NFPA 730 Guide on Premises Security - National Fire Protection Association:
Since 2001, the National Fire protection Association (NFPA) has been developing a national standard for Premises Security. The standard was developed by the NFPA Technical Committee on Premises Security. The Virginia Crime Prevention Association is a member of this committee.The proposed standard for Premises Security will be presented for a vote by the NFPA membership at the 2005 NFPA World Safety Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas, June 6 - 10, 2005.

This is the first security document produced by the NFPA and covers a wide variety of facilities. The guide describes construction, protection, and occupancy features, and practices, intended to reduce security vulnerabilities to life and of property.

The mission of the international nonprofit NFPA is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating scientifically-based consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education. NFPA membership totals more than 75,000 individuals from around the world and more than 80 national trade and professional organizations.

Established in 1896, NFPA serves as the world's leading advocate of fire prevention and is an authoritative source on public safety. In fact, NFPA's 300 codes and standards influence every building, process, service, design, and installation in the United States, as well as many of those used in other countries. NFPA's focus on true consensus has helped the association's code-development process earn accreditation from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Windows Plus, LLC - VCPA Sponsor
Windows Plus has been a Corporate Member of the VCPA  since 2003 and has been a sponsor and exhibitor for the VCPA Crime Prevention Conference for the past three years. From sponsorships of Safety Fairs and Crime Prevention Days for the Fairfax and Prince William County Police Departments to crime prevention and home security presentations for Neighborhood Watch Associations to a permanent display of home security products at the Safety Connection Mall in Manassas, it has established itself as an industry leader in the marketing and sales of intruder-resistant windows and doors.

Windows Plus, LLC is a home improvement company that specializes in providing products for the exterior of the home. Located in Annandale, Virginia, Windows Plus is a licensed, bonded, and insured company that operates throughout Virginia and Maryland Windows Plus sells and installs a variety of state-of-the-art replacement windows and doors, exterior window treatments, siding, and capping. Throughout its 15 years in business, Windows Plus has established a reputation in the community for its unique and personalized approach in conducting business. Windows Plus was built on a foundation of trust instilled by owners, R. B. (Reg) Wayland, Jr. and Thomas (Tom) M. Camarca, who recognize that the most important elements of their business will always be trust, pride, quality, and service.

Windows Plus LLC
7223 Poplar St., Annandale VA 22003
(703) 916-8372 (703) 941-2239

Workplace Violence - National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
An average of 1.7 million people were victims of violent crime while working or on duty in the United States, according to a report published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), each year from 1993 through 1999. An estimated 1.3 million (75%) of these incidents were simple assaults while an additional 19% were aggravated assaults. Of the occupations examined, police officers, corrections officers, and taxi drivers were victimized at the highest rates. For the same time period, over 800 workplace homicides per year were recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

As an integral part of a broad-based initiative to reduce the incidence of occupational violence in this country, NIOSH conducts, funds, and publishes research on risk factors and prevention strategies related to workplace violence. This site contains information on NIOSH research as well as links to external research programs, statistical reports, and public and private initiatives to address the problems of workplace violence.

NIOSH Research on Occupational Violence and Homicide

• Workplace Violence Initiative: Research and Implementation
• Survey of Work-Related Assaults Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments
• The Evaluation of State-Based Approaches to Workplace Violence Prevention
• Evaluation of Prevention Strategies to Reduce Crime Against Taxi Cab Operators
• Evaluation of Workplace Violence Prevention in VA Hospitals

NIOSHTIC-2 search results on Workplace Violence
NIOSHTIC-2  is a searchable bibliographic database of occupational safety and health publications, documents, grant reports, and journal articles supported in whole or in part by the NIOSH

Realtor Safety
You meet lots of people in the real estate business--some nice and some not so nice. Learn how to protect yourself at showings, in the office, in the car and on the road. Get safety tips, handouts and posters from REALTOR® Associations. Read about REALTORS®' real-life experiences, find out how their lives were changed and how they keep safe while working. 

Traffic Calming - Virginia Department of Transportation
If you're concerned about traffic safety on your residential street, you're not alone. In recent years, more and more communities are seeking solutions to combat the increased traffic and speeding on their neighborhood streets. VDOT can help your neighborhood and county officials manage the traffic in your area in several ways - traffic calming is one of them. Traffic calming slows speeding traffic on residential streets without restricting access to them. It can also impact vehicular traffic associated with illegal drugs sales, prostitution and gangs.

Traffic Calming Guide for Local Residential Streets (pdf)

Secured by Design Award - Great Britain
Secured by Design achieves a reduction of crime risk by combining minimum standards of physical security and well-tested principles of natural surveillance and defensible space. Details of SBD requirements may be found on our Design Guides page. It is essential that consultation takes place at the earliest opportunity, preferably at the design stage and before planning permission is sought.

Applications for a Secured by Design Award or other designing-out-crime advice on building developments should be made to the Police Architectural Liaison Officer (ALO), sometimes called a Crime Prevention Design Advisor, for the area where the premises are to be built. The ALO will require copies of plans and schedules of security specifications. Points of contact for each area are available through our UK Police pages. If you have problems contacting the police force concerned please call ACPO CPI.

To apply for a site or development award please fill in the form below and forward it to your local ALO contact.

Commercial Application Form     Residential Application Form

CAP Index   (crime analysis)
CAP Index is the single most accurate predictor of loss, risk and crime vulnerability in the United States and Canada. Each year thousands of clients order over half a million reports and maps to help guide their security decisions.

In today's economy, loss of any kind can greatly impact each of us professionally and personally. Whether it's a loss related to your business or your home.

At CAP Index, our cutting-edge, data-driven approach goes far beyond preventing loss from crimes like burglary and assault. We also help you protect your customers, employees and loved ones from many other losses includiing: lawsuits, general liability claims, fraud, shrink and workers compensation.

National Equipment Register (heavy equipment theft prevention)
Every year, millions of dollars worth of heavy equipment is stolen from locations throughout North America. Most of this equipment is never recovered. Read more about the theft problem.To combat this problem, the National Equipment Register has developed database services to record heavy equipment ownership and theft information in order to increase the recovery rate of stolen equipment and reduce the costs associated with theft for owners and insurers

Guideline on Security Lighting for People, Property, and Public Spaces
Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (73 pages - March 2003)
This Guideline for design and implementation of security lighting. It covers basic security principles, illuminance requirements for various types of properties, protocol for evaluating current lighting levels for different security applications, and security survey and crime search methodology. Guidelines include exterior and interior security lighting practices for the reasonable protection of persons and property.

Building Security Through Design
Welcome to the AIA Building Security through Design Resource Center. This special section of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) web site explores how architects, engineers, owners and others can work toward a common goal of safer buildings in this time of heightened security concerns.

Crime Prevention Analysis Lab
California State University - San Bernardino
The mission of the Crime Prevention Analysis Lab-California State University, San Bernardino is to support and conduct research focusing on public space, through grants and contracts, with a variety of tools and methods not commonly used within criminal justice

Wildlife Crime Watch
"Wildlife Crime Watch" is a new program implemented by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. This program is a proactive effort to develop a partnership between citizens and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to stop criminal activity before is occurs. It is patterned after the successful "Neighborhood Watch." Emphasis is be placed on wildlife and environmental issues but traditional crime prevention is also addressed.

Fairfax County Neighborhood Watch
This site provides an overview of the Neighborhood Watch Program in Fairfax County, the largest Neighborhood Watch Program in Virginia

. Neighborhood Watch began in 1979 and has flourished steadily with over 900 community programs established throughout the county.

Trees & Crime: 
The Role of Landscapes in Crime Prevention
If you don't consciously design-out crime, then most likely you will design-in crime. An excellent CPTED website managed by Joe Murray at Blue Ridge Community College that focuses on trees and landscaping

Virginia Department of Education - School Safety
This site provides Virginia school safety resources. The site includes the School Safety Assessment Protocol that is recommended by the Department of Education. State law requires that all Virginia schools conduct a school safety audit every year.

Center for Advanced Public Safety Research (CAPSR)
University of New Haven, School of Public Safety and Professional Studies
At CAPSR we conduct research on new crime prevention methods and better ways to police communities. To us "crime prevention" is much bigger than specific programs, and "policing" is larger than law enforcement agencies.  CAPSR is also a center for technical assistance and professional training in the areas of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), school safety, crime analysis/mapping, and problem-based

©2002 VCPA