The Alliance is a group of independent experts from the worlds of design, industry and law enforcement, whose task is to bring about innovation and encourage others to ‘think crime’ in the first stages of product development.
The Design & Technology Alliance Against Crime was established by the Home Office in 2007, tasked with encouraging innovation through ‘thinking crime’ in the first stages of design, planning and product development. It comprises experts from the world of design industry and law enforcement:
Working with the Home Office to embed the message that design can have a real impact on cutting crime by making it harder and less attractive for criminals – in turn making people and communities feel safer.
Chair of The Alliance Sebastian Conran (pictured in the centre of the second row below) says: "The Design and Technology Alliance is a unique collaboration of some of the most experienced and creative minds in the country, and I am looking forward to seeing major positive impacts as a result of our work over the next three years".
Other members of The Alliance include (as pictured above clockwise from top left):
- Deputy Leader of The Alliance, Gloria Laycock OBE, Director of Community Policing and Police Science Institute, Abu Dhabi UAE.
- Professor Jeremy Myerson, Director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art, who led the Design Out Crime projects on alcohol related crime.
- Professor Joe McGeehan, Professor at Bristol University, Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, who led the project on hot product crime.
- Michael Wolff, Co-founder of Wolff Olins.
- Sir John Sorrell, Co-Chair The Sorrell Foundation, who led the Design Out Crime projects on crime in schools.
- Dr Lorraine Gamman, who led the Design Out Crime project on business crime.
- David Kester, Design Council Chief Executive.
- David Bott, Director of Innovation Programmes at the Technology Strategy Board.
- Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson (not pictured above).
The Alliance's Aims
With the Design Out Crime projects the Design and Technology Alliance Against Crime is showing how design has a huge role to play in tackling social problems such as alcohol related violence or bullying in schools.
Designers are collaborating with manufacturers and technology and materials experts to create more secure mobile phones, a safer pint glass and innovative solutions to crime in schools, businesses and at home.
Designers work in a unique way: they focus on investigating and understanding a problem then collaborate with the people affected to create new products, places or services that address their needs. In the case of Design Out Crime, this means helping people feel more secure and enabling them to use things that are designed to be less vulnerable to crime.
The Alliance was established by the Home Office and is supported by the Design Council but it is not meant to benefit only law enforcement or designers. It is working with businesses that produce technology products and with drinks brand owners and with school governors to show them how they can benefit from employing designers.
The Alliance believes there are real corporate social responsibility benefits to be realised by tacking a proactive design led approach to tackling crime problems. There are many more opportunities for other manufacturers, brand owners or public sector organisations in the UK to benefit. By applying innovative design processes to their new product development many more UK businesses could future proof their ideas.
Read these case studies to see the variety of industries that have used design to make their products, places and services more secure.
Designers interested in using a Design Out Crime approach should keep an eye out for our guide to how you can Think Thief. This is due for publication mid-2010.