Developing a fear-of-crime audit method for university environments using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

Universities focus on offering positive, safer, and welcoming experiences through on-campus facilities and design. Despite these efforts, universities can host socioenvironmental events exacerbating the students’ psychological responses to their campus environment, resulting in fear-of-crime experiences. This study employs Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design and a qualitative-driven mixed-methodology to develop a Fear-of-Crime audit method for universities based on a case study of a university in Melbourne, Australia. This paper traces the methodology’s development through three precise and customisable fear-of-crime auditing phases, discusses its limitations, and positions it as a vehicle for formalising into a future audit tool.