The City of Paterson is utilizing a multi-pronged approach to revitalizing the city and addressing significant gang and drug related crime. Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) is one of the key strategies that the city will be utilizing to deter crime on public streets. Use of CPTED has been in practice for more than three decades and is based on twelve principles that can influence behavior before a criminal act occurs. The City of Paterson received a grant through Together North Jersey to develop and implement a CPTED program.

Arterial was selected by the City of Paterson and Together North Jersey to lead a nationally recognized team of experts in the development of the CPTED strategy for the city. The team included Project for Public Spaces (PPS) and Gregory Saville, a nationally recognized CPTED expert. Arterial began the project by working with the city to establish community “CPTED Teams” comprised of members from the community and other stakeholders. The teams were given intensive CPTED training by Gregory Saville and were then given the responsibility to engage their neighbors and work with the consultant team to develop a CPTED strategy for their neighborhood. This community-driven approach resulted not only in CPTED plans for each neighborhood, but also helped the city build the capacity to expand this program city-wide. The final product was a detailed CPTED Plan for six neighborhoods and a CPTED Toolkit that can be used by other neighborhoods.