Ideas, lessons and real-world perspectives.

These crime prevention insights come from more than 25 years in Canadian law enforcement, including 14 years investigating homicides, and from the consulting work Dave Sweet now does with businesses, property managers and organizations across Canada. They are written for the people who make decisions about spaces, teams and investigations, not for other police officers. Each one expands on a topic above.

Safer cities start with smarter design

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, usually shortened to CPTED, is built on a simple idea: the way a place is designed and managed influences how people behave in it. Offenders look for opportunity. They prefer places where they are unlikely to be seen, where it is unclear who is in charge and where they can come and go without being noticed. Change those conditions and the opportunity shrinks.

In practice, CPTED looks at natural surveillance (can people see and be seen?), access control (are entrances and routes clear and intentional?), territorial reinforcement (does the space feel owned and cared for?) and maintenance (does the site signal that someone is paying attention?). Overgrown landscaping, poor lighting, blind corners in a parkade and doors propped open for convenience all send the wrong message.

A CPTED assessment is not about turning a building into a fortress. The best recommendations are often modest: trimming hedges below window height, relocating a bench, adding lighting where people actually walk, changing where deliveries are received or giving staff a clear process for reporting problems. The aim is to make legitimate use easy and misuse uncomfortable. The International CPTED Association is a useful starting point for anyone who wants to read more about the principles.

The human factor in investigations

Evidence matters, but people are at the centre of every investigation. Witnesses remember events differently. Complainants and respondents often arrive frightened, angry or defensive. Managers want the matter resolved quickly. Good investigators recognize all of that and still keep the process fair.

One of the most practical crime prevention insights from years of interviewing is that how you ask matters as much as what you ask. Open questions, patience and genuine listening produce better information than pressure. Documenting each account carefully, and testing it against records, messages and other evidence, produces conclusions that hold up. Workplace investigations that skip these steps may feel faster, but they are far more likely to be challenged later.

A fresh look at old cases

Cases stall for many reasons: a key witness could not be found, a lead was never followed, the file changed hands, or everyone involved became convinced of one explanation too early. An independent case file review gives an unresolved matter the careful second look it deserves.

A disciplined review starts by separating what is known from what has been assumed. It rebuilds the timeline, checks whether each conclusion is supported by the evidence and identifies gaps that could still be closed. The result is a clear written summary of strengths, weaknesses and realistic next steps. For families, legal teams and organizations, that clarity can be valuable even when a case cannot be solved.

Beyond the headlines

Television and podcasts have made true crime enormously popular, but most depictions compress months of work into minutes and skip the people left behind. Real investigations are slower, more methodical and more human than they appear on screen. They involve paperwork, disclosure, court preparation and long conversations with families.

That gap is why accurate storytelling matters. When journalists, producers and authors understand how investigations actually work, audiences get a truer picture and victims are treated with more respect. It is also why Dave Sweet continues to speak with the media about public safety, family violence prevention, resilience and the realities of major-case work.

A quick CPTED walk-around you can do yourself

You do not need a consultant to start noticing CPTED issues. Walk your property at different times of day, including after dark, and look at it the way someone with bad intentions might. Where could a person wait without being seen? Which doors are routinely propped open? Where does lighting leave pools of shadow along the routes people actually use?

Look at sightlines from windows, reception desks and security cameras. Check whether landscaping has grown over signage or blocked views. Notice where garbage, graffiti or damaged fixtures have been left too long, because neglect signals that nobody is watching. Ask staff and residents where they feel uncomfortable; their instincts are usually accurate. Write down what you find, photograph it and rank each issue by how often people are exposed to it.

A professional CPTED assessment builds on that same process with a trained eye, crime and incident data, and practical, prioritized recommendations. It also looks at how the site is managed, not just how it is built, because policies such as key control, delivery routines and after-hours access often matter as much as fences and lights.

What to do in the hours after a serious incident

When something serious happens at a workplace or property, the first decisions shape everything that follows. Make sure people are safe and that police or emergency services have been called where appropriate. Preserve what you can: video footage is often overwritten within days, and messages, access logs and physical evidence can disappear quickly.

Write down who was present and what they saw while memories are fresh, but avoid putting witnesses together to compare stories. Limit discussion to people who need to know. Then take time to plan the next steps rather than reacting to pressure. A post-incident analysis can later examine what happened, what policies and procedures were in place, and how a similar event can be prevented. These crime prevention insights are simple, but they are the steps most often missed.

Putting these crime prevention insights to work

Every site, workplace and case is different. The principles above are a starting point; applying them well means looking at your specific situation. Unconventional Consulting offers CPTED assessments, workplace investigations, post-incident analysis, criminal case file reviews and training built around these ideas. If something here sounds familiar, a confidential conversation is the easiest first step.