Our work : Home Office
Home Office - Hot Products
Tackling hot product theft.
Product Desire
Young people today carry, on average, £184 worth of ‘hot products’ with them when they are out and about. These mobile phones, mp3 players and hand held games consoles are a big part of their lives and identities.
With the use of expensive and covetable personal electronics on the rise, street robberies have increased dramatically. Carrying and using ‘hot products’ in public makes young people vulnerable to street crime and bullying. Fear of being mugged is becoming a way of life. One in eight teenagers nationally have had a mobile or MP3 player stolen, one in five in London.
Unfortunately it seems this situation will only get worse. Each technological advance presents new problems both to young people and the police. In the near future children are likely to be carrying laptops to school or cash stored on their phones, making them even more vulnerable to crime. It is an issue that needs be addressed urgently.
Design out crime
Live|work was asked to work alongside the Design Council and the Home Office to find new approaches to reduce hi-tech gadget theft among young people. Is it possible to ‘design out crime’?
Car theft was dramatically reduced not only by the invention of central locking, but also when governments began to publish the car theft index of stolen vehicles. What measures – industrial, social or policy – could be developed to make small and portable products less ‘hot’.
Together with the Design Council, we conducted research, surveys and interviews with young people, schools, the police and community groups to gain a clearer picture of how street crime affects young people and, more importantly, to identify the opportunities to reduce its occurrence.
live|work realised it was essential to talk to young people – both the victims and perpetrators of street crime. We led workshops with teenagers in London and Newcastle where we were able to hear their experiences in depth as well as get their ideas about how to tackle hot product theft. What could they imagine being useful solutions to their own problems? The teenagers were able to contribute product, service and policy solutions to the debate.
Our research was presented at an Experts’ Workshop at the Design Council launched by the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith. Attendees included senior police officers, criminologists, educationalists, designers, academics and manufacturers. The live|work team worked with these experts to suggest ways that hot product theft could be reduced.
Product, service and policy solutions
The ideas from the Experts’ Workshop have led to a ‘Top 10 Must Do List’ for manufacturers, designers, service providers, the police, schools and the government. It includes proposals for technical adaptations of mobile phones, clearer police reporting and better management of crime in schools. The project has addressed some vital issues head on. Now, with support from Gordon Brown, the project is a key element of the Home Office’s Design and Technology Alliance.
Live|work has helped the Home Office and the Design Council to challenge and inspire the design of new products, services and policies with crime prevention at their core.
January – May 2008
Read more about Hot products at Design Council.
Ben Reason
Director
Contact Ben on 020 7377 9620.
Client list :
Public Sector
- British Standards
- Haringey Borough Council
- Home Office
- Kent County Council
- Newcastle University
- Northumberland County Council
- Ordnance Survey
- South Tyneside Council
- Sunderland City Council
- The Cabinet Office
Financial
- Egg.com
- Experian
- Gjensidige
- NCR
- Norwich Union
- PFA pension
Transport
- BAA
- Danish Rail
- EurotaxGlass’s
- North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- Opplandstrafikk
- Riversimple
- Streetcar
Telecoms, media & technology
Retail
- Boots
- FINN.no
Health
- Department of Health
- Macmillan
- NHS
- NHS – Ealing PCT
- NHS Innovation & Improvement Institute
- NHS – Luton PCT
- Norwegian Knowledge Centre for Health
Environmental-Sustainability
Manufacturing
- FIAT
- Laerdal Medical
- Mustad
- NOKIA
- Sony Ericsson
Economic-Development
- Design Council
- Hong Kong Design Center
- NESTA
- Norwegian Design Council
- ONE North East Regional Dev. Agency
- Scottish Enterprise
- Skills Development Scotland
- The Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority
- Tyneside Economic Development Co
Voluntary Sector
- Agrarian Renaissance
- Amnesty International
Museums & Cultural Institutions
- Baltic
- National Maritime Museum
