Police Crime Prevention Initiatives announced PC Kevin Hook of the Metropolitan Police Service as the recipient of the Bob Knights Designing Out Crime Officer (DOCO) of the Year Award for 2023, for the significant contribution he has made in designing out crime.
Kevin is currently working with local authority planners, architects and developers on over forty thousand residential units covering 250,000 sqm of developments. This work, both by its nature and volume, has a huge impact on reducing crime and antisocial behaviour. In his time as a DOCO, Kevin has worked on 83,197 residential units over 603 developments. He currently has 115 active developments that he is responsible for, from a 15-unit block of flats to 700-unit tower block.
As an example of the yearly influence Kevin has over the Secured by Design scheme in London, between 5th September 2021 and 5th September 2022 he awarded SBD Homes certification to 3,795 residential units.
Additionally, he was one of the first London DOCOs to secure blanket planning conditions for SBD anywhere in London – possibly the country – with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Kevin was nominated for the award by his line manager, David Lucy, who commented: “I have been Kevin Hook’s Line manager as a DOCO for 6 years and have good knowledge of his abilities and achievements. He is highly dedicated to the role and has made great achievements not only in his own developments and DOCO work, but also in the mentoring of new DOCOs and his support of peers.”
The Bob Knights DOCO of the Year Award is in memory of Robert ‘Bob’ Knights MBE, who passed away in 2018 after serving as both a front-line police officer and in the crime prevention role of designing out crime. He became a staunch advocate of Secured by Design from its earliest days and recognised the need for training and development in this specialist sector.
Lyn Poole, Secured by Design, commented: “Having been a Metropolitan Police Officer and a DOCO in the Met it’s a great thrill to see an ex-colleague be handed the Bob Knight Award at the ATLAS event this year. The number of Secured by Design units Kevin has supported to achieve an SBD award speak for themselves. He has been the driving force behind them because he has worked closely with his local planning department, forming the positive relationships which helped everyone achieve great results. All I can say is great work Kevin, keep up the good work!
“I hope DOCOs around the UK can see why having that relationship with their local planning department, and having them understand what they do and why they do it, has long term benefits for the local authority in general, the Police Service and residents, as well as people visiting and working in an area.”
Kevin Hook, DOCO of the Year Award recipient, said: “I feel privileged to work in an area of Policing that can make such a difference to the quality of life of so many people. I am honoured to have been considered for this award, but I dedicate it to all DOCOs around the country working tirelessly to achieve demand reduction for their respective constabularies through Secured by Design and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. My thanks to all who accepted the nomination.”
Kevin was given the award at the annual Secured by Design ATLAS conference, a CPD event for DOCOs and a chance for them to meet with SBD member companies. The award was presented by Guy Ferguson of Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (Police CPI) and Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy during a ceremony celebrating the best of crime prevention policing across the country.
(Source: Secured by Design)
