Designing out crime is cheaper and more effective than adding security later. This CPTED training gives planners, designers and facility managers the skills to apply crime prevention through environmental design to plans, sites and development applications, with a practical audit of one of your own sites led by consultants who carry out CPTED assessments every week.
What your organisation gains
- Safer, more welcoming places, designed right the first time.
- Confident review of plans and development applications against CPTED principles.
- Fewer costly retrofits of lighting, fencing, CCTV and access control.
- A shared language between planners, designers, security and asset teams.
Why train with Agilient
Taught by practitioners
Every Agilient consultant has at least 20 years of experience, typically as security managers within large organisations, and has dealt first hand with the issues the course covers.
Built for your organisation
Content, examples and scenarios are shaped around your sites, policies and incident history, not an off-the-shelf syllabus that dates quickly.
Active learning
Participants work through case studies and carry out the activities themselves, so the skills stick after the day.
Designed for you to own
Train-the-trainer options and a strategy for moving the course into your own online learning mean the capability stays in-house.
Why CPTED skills matter
Good design prevents crime more cheaply than any guard or camera added later. Crime prevention through environmental design, or CPTED, uses surveillance, access control, territorial reinforcement and space management to make places feel safer and make crime harder and riskier for offenders.
CPTED is built into Australian planning. In New South Wales, crime prevention guidelines introduced in April 2001 under what is now section 4.15 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 allow consent authorities to require crime risk assessments and to modify or refuse developments with unmitigated crime risks. Queensland Police updated the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Guidelines for Queensland in 2021, and ISO 22341:2021 provides international guidelines. Councils, developers and asset owners increasingly need people who can apply CPTED confidently at the design stage.
What the course covers
- CPTED principles Natural surveillance, access control, territorial reinforcement, and space and activity management.
- Beyond the basics Second-generation CPTED, community and activation, and balancing safety with access, amenity and sustainability.
- Understanding crime risk Using crime data, local knowledge and site history to understand what could happen and where.
- Reading plans Reviewing site plans, floor plans and landscape plans for sightlines, entrapment spots, movement and access.
- Lighting, landscaping and wayfinding Practical design details that improve surveillance and perceptions of safety.
- Integrating security technology Where CCTV, access control and hostile vehicle mitigation fit, and how to avoid designing in problems.
- Crowded places and public spaces Applying CPTED to plazas, transport, campuses and venues, alongside counter terrorism guidance.
- Writing a CPTED assessment Structuring findings and recommendations for development applications, capital works and existing sites.
- Site audit A facilitated day or night walk of one of your own sites, applying the principles on the ground.
What participants will be able to do
- Explain and apply the core CPTED principles to new and existing sites.
- Identify crime risks and design weaknesses on plans and on site.
- Recommend practical, proportionate design treatments.
- Integrate CPTED with security technology and crowded places guidance.
- Prepare a clear CPTED assessment for a development application or capital project.
Who should attend
- Town planners and development assessment officers
- Architects, urban and landscape designers
- Facility, property and asset managers
- Security and risk managers
- Community safety and place management teams
Choose the level and format that suits you
The course can be run at more than one level, so governance and day-to-day practice are covered together.
- Executive briefing. A short session for executives and boards on accountability, obligations, risk appetite and what good looks like.
- Manager and practitioner workshop. The full course, with case studies and practical exercises for the people who manage the risk day to day.
- Train-the-trainer. Preparing your own trainers to deliver the course inside your organisation, with the materials and guidance to do it well.
- In person or online. Delivered at your premises, at a venue you choose, or live online through Microsoft Teams and other platforms.
Bringing the capability in-house, with Agilient as your partner
More organisations want to build and keep this capability within their own teams. Agilient supports that. After delivering the course, Agilient can train your trainers, help your learning and development team plan the conversion of the course into an online module, and stay involved as an adviser, so your people deliver it with the benefit of Agilient’s hands-on experience.
How it works
- Get in touch. Tell us which course you are interested in, roughly how many people, where and when.
- Scoping conversation. An Agilient consultant discusses your people, sites, policies and recent incidents, and agrees the level, format and duration with you.
- Tailored content. Case studies, scenarios and exercises are built around your own environment and procedures.
- Delivery and handover. The course is delivered in person or online. Agilient can then train your trainers, support an online version, or review related procedures, controls or risk assessments.
Related Agilient services and resources
- CPTED guide
- Physical security consulting for CPTED assessments and security design reviews
- Hostile vehicle mitigation
- Security risk assessment consultants
Frequently asked questions
What is CPTED training?
CPTED training teaches planners, designers and managers to apply crime prevention through environmental design: using surveillance, access control, territorial reinforcement and space management to reduce crime and improve perceptions of safety. Agilient’s course includes a practical audit of one of your own sites.
Is CPTED a legal requirement in Australia?
It depends on the jurisdiction and the development. In New South Wales, consent authorities can require crime risk assessments under guidelines made in 2001 under what is now section 4.15 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, and many councils include CPTED controls in their development control plans. Other states publish their own guidelines.
Can the course use our own projects?
Yes. Agilient can build the exercises around your current development applications, capital works or problem sites, so participants practise on real plans.
Who delivers the training?
Agilient consultants who carry out CPTED assessments and security design reviews for government, councils and private owners.
How long is the course?
Duration is agreed with you. Courses range from a two-hour briefing to a one, one and a half or two-day program, depending on your audience, risks and how much practical work you want included.
Can the course be delivered online?
Yes. Agilient delivers courses in person at your premises and live online through Microsoft Teams and other platforms, and can combine the two for teams spread across several locations.
Can our own team deliver this training in future?
Yes. Agilient runs train-the-trainer sessions so your people can deliver the course themselves, and can work with your learning and development team on a strategy for converting the course into an online module for induction and refreshers.
Can individuals book a place on this course?
No. Agilient runs its training in-house for organisations rather than as public courses, so individual places are not available. Group size, timing and content are agreed with each organisation.
Is this an accredited course?
No, and that is deliberate. It is not a nationally recognised qualification that follows a fixed syllabus, which can date quickly. It is designed and delivered by practitioners who have dealt with these issues first hand, tailored to your organisation, and built on case studies, active learning and practical exercises.
Ready to build this capability in your organisation?
Tell us what you need. Agilient will recommend the right level, format and duration, and tailor the course to your organisation.
Other in-house security training courses
- Security Risk Assessment and Management Course
- Security Threat Assessment Training
- Insider Threat Training
- Security Awareness Training Course
- Customer Aggression Training for Managers
- De-escalation Training for Customer-Facing Staff
- Managing Physical Aggression in the Workplace
- Patient De-escalation Training for Healthcare Workers
- Occupational Violence and Aggression (OVA) Training for Healthcare
- Crisis Management Team Training and Tabletop Exercises
- Situational Awareness and Active Armed Offender Training
- Physical Restraint and Personal Protection Training
Sources
- Safer by Design, NSW Police Force
- Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Guidelines for Queensland 2021, Queensland Police Service
- ISO 22341:2021 Guidelines for crime prevention through environmental design, ISO
Last updated 29/09/2026.