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Since 1989, Secured by Design has provided prescriptive guidance in terms of security for developers of both residential and commercial units. This was established by the Association of Police Chief Officers (ACPO) and has been rolled out with the help of Architectural Liaison Officers (ALOs) and Crime Prevention Design Advisors (CPDAs).

In 2007, the Secured by Design (SBD) principles were incorporated into the first issue of the Code for Sustainable Homes assessment methodology for residential dwellings. BRE then introduced SBD into the BREEAM assessment in 2008 for commercial buildings.

At the end of 2015 we saw the introduction of Building Regulations Part Q which brought in new minimum standards for windows and doors for new housing, though not commercial. Site-wide security issues were excluded and remained with SBD.

BRE have now launched SABRE, a new assessment method for security which provides a framework for measuring, understanding and improving the security performance of both new and existing buildings and infrastructure projects. The assessment sets out a process for determining the approach to security including:

  • Establishing security requirements
  • Managing risks
  • Designing an appropriate security system
  • Implementing plans or managing change at a facility

Both SBD and SABRE cover site-wide, as well as building hardware issues. SBD provides a more prescriptive approach that is easier to apply on straightforward residential projects.

SABRE offers a more flexible approach in addressing specific non-standard project situations but requires a specialist SABRE registered assessor to carry out the assessment. We expect that SABRE will be useful for difficult, non-standard developments.