The ‘Fortress Farm’: articulating a new approach to redesigning ‘Defensible Space’ in a rural context

Abstract

This conceptual paper explores and develops a holistic, contemporary model of crime prevention, namely the ‘Fortress Farm’ concept as introduced by the National Farmers Union in the UK. This novel idea is underpinned by the criminological theory of defensible space as posited by Oscar Newman, and by other theories of crime prevention. A holistic model of crime prevention drawing on all aspects of the topic is developed and discussed in the context of preventing and deterring farm crime. This model can be adapted by individual farms or collectives to design out crime on farms. In the process, this paper advances our understanding of crime prevention both at a farm level and in a wider rural context.