THE IMPACT OF PHYSICAL FEATURES AND ENVIRONMENT ON CRIME IN URBAN NEIGHBOURHOOD AREAS

The physical design of features and environment will stimulate a safe and sustainable development of the neighbourhood. Despite possessing a proper form, a private space which does not control and keep could even raise fear and crime incident. Therefore, this study planned to analyse the fear, perception and potential feature that caused the crime event in neighbourhoods. Three years of burglary data got from the Royal Malaysia Police helped to explain the crime trend and pattern. Besides, a statistical analysis conducted to examine the fear level and perception towards crime incident using a set of questionnaires. Next, the potential features and visibility level examined in the unit of a house that has experienced the burglary event. The purpose is to find any element that can affect crime event. Results prove that actual crime data not associated with fear and perception of the crime. Besides, accessibility, visibility and crime pattern were the key elements to consider for crime prevention.