INSTALLING ALLEY-GATES: PRACTICAL LESSONS FROM BURGLARY PREVENTION PROJECTS

Alley-gating, the installation of security gates across footpath and alleyways, is a form of situational crime prevention that attempts to reduce the opportunity to commit crimes such as domestic burglary. When installed and properly used, alley-gates should control access to vulnerable target areas – usually paths or alleys at the rear and to the sides of houses. Although there are good reasons for thinking that alley-gates should reduce burglary, there is as yet little hard evidence that they do. This will be available later in the year when evaluations of projects funded by the Crime Reduction Programme report their findings. In the interim, however, the promise of alley-gating is enough to persuade many partnerships an local authorities that they are worth installing. This briefing note therefore provides guidance on the practical issues that must be addressed when considering alley-gating.