Security is becoming increasingly important in the design of new buildings. Which is why Senior Architectural Systems has now become a member of Secured by Design, the flagship UK police initiative to help ‘design out’ crime through the use of high-quality, innovative products and processes.

Products with ‘Police Preferred Specification’ status 

In order to achieve Secured by Design status, Senior’s products had to adhere to rigorous test standards required by the police. The safety and security of our products has always been an important consideration in their design, so we are delighted that the following products have now been awarded ‘Police Preferred Specification’ status and are accredited by Secured by Design. This means they meets police approved standards are ideal for projects where Secured by Design is a requirement. More products will be added as testing continues.

• SAS Hybrid Series 1 Timber / Aluminium Door System
• SPW600 Aluminium Door System
• SPW501 Aluminium Thermally Broken Commercial Door System
• SPW500 Aluminium Door Commercial System
• PURe^® FOLD Residential Aluminium Folding Sliding Door System
• Ali Fold Residential Aluminium Folding Sliding Door System
• PURe^® Slide Residential Aluminium Door System
• Series 1 Timber / Aluminium Hybrid Casement Window System
• SAS Series 2 Timber / Aluminium Hybrid Casement Window
• SPW 600e Aluminium Casement Window System
• SPW 600r Aluminium Casement Window System
• PURe^® Aluminium Casement Window System
• PURe^® Aluminium Tilt and Turn Window System
• PURe^® Aluminium Overswing Casement Window System
• Ali VU Casement Window System
• Ali VU Ovolo Frame Casement Window
• Ali VU Multi Frame Casement Window
• SD Aluminium Door System
• Series 2 Aluminium Window System

The Senior Architectural Systems profile page alongside a list of  accredited products can be found at https://www.securedbydesign.com

The benefits of Secured by Design

By harnessing the expertise of specialist police officers, planning officers, community safety officers, developers and architects, to design out crime, the SBD initiative brings many benefits:

• The principles of Secured by Design have been proven to reduce the risk of crime and the fear of crime:
• In West Yorkshire, research demonstrated that newly built developments built to Secured by Design standards are up to 75% less likely to be burgled.
• In Glasgow, research demonstrated that refurbished developments employing Secured by Design principles are up to 63% less likely to experience crime.
• Householders who aren’t offered security recommendations after a burglary are more likely to suffer a repeat incident than those who are offered advice.
• The SBD principles can also be applied to commercial properties such as offices, schools, hospitals and sporting venues
• The London 2012 Olympic Park and the 2014 Commonwealth Games Village were awarded full Secured by Design status
• At a time of shrinking budgets keeping communities safe by adopting SBD frees up police resources to tackle more serious crimes

A more secure future

More than one million homes have now been built to SBD standards over the last 30 years and during that time there has been an overall reduction in property crime of 60%. In the future, the number of buildings completed to SBD standards is set to escalate, thanks to the work of SBD with the Government to embed crime prevention into the planning process.

Senior Architectural Systems’ membership of Secure by Design will help to make this possible. That’s because it gives architects and specifiers more choice when recommending windows and doors with ‘Police Preferred Specification’ status for both residential and commercial properties.