West Midlands Police staff praised after attaining specialist crime prevention qualifications

The police officers and police staff have all achieved their Crime Prevention for Practitioners Level 4 qualification and Level 5 Diploma in Crime Prevention – Designing Out Crime from the Academy, an established provider of police training and the ProQual approved centre with the exclusive link to the Secured by Design initiative.

Mark said: “The training provided by the Crime Prevention Academy means that the Design Out Crime Team in West Midlands Police can continue to deliver a consistently high level of service to the communities of the West Midlands. The mix of classroom and distance learning works so well, and allows those undertaking the Level 4 and Level 5 courses to collaborate with experienced colleagues so as to provide the best possible examples to use as evidence as part of the learning”.

The Crime Prevention for Practitioners Level 4 qualification is appropriate for those who provide specialist crime prevention advice within their role. The qualification content includes understanding the role of crime prevention in the community; understanding the use of security products in crime prevention including testing, certification, standards and the Secured by Design initiative; conducting site security surveys of both residential and non-residential properties; employing a partnership approach to preventing and reducing crime including undertaking an Environmental Visual Audit; and planning, implementing, managing and evaluating a crime prevention initiative.

The Level 5 Diploma in Crime Prevention – Designing Out Crime is the recognised qualification both for police Designing Out Crime Officers and for others who provide specialist designing out crime advice as part of their role. The qualification content includes understanding and application of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED); understanding the design phase and the role of the planning system in relation to the built environment; understanding the role of the planning system in relation to the built environment; the role of Secured by Design in the design process; understanding the purpose of testing and certification of security products; and understanding the use of other schemes to improve security in the built environment such as the Safer Parking Award scheme.

Further details about the range of qualifications offered by the Academy, can be obtained by visiting https://www.crimepreventionacademy.com/ or emailing

The Academy is part of Police Crime Prevention Initiatives, the police owned, non-profit organisation that works on behalf of the Police Service throughout the UK to deliver a wide range of crime prevention and police demand reduction initiatives.

The Academy maintains close working links with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, as well as senior police officers from across the UK, and is the established supplier to the police service for crime prevention learning & development.

The Academy also delivers a number of qualifications to the private sector, working closely with local authorities and relevant specialists such as architects and planners, and recently launched a number of distance learning qualifications which can be achieved without the need to be away from home or work. The Academy prides itself in keeping the quality of qualifications at a premium and the costs at a minimum.