Introduction The field of planning has traditionally made sustainability of communities one of its central tenets. The cardinal objective of the town planning profession is to ensure the actualization of an efficient, functional and safe environment. This notion presupposes that, irrespective of where a person lives, the urban environment must provide an atmosphere conducive to living, working andrecreation. Urban safety and security are seen as pivotal in evolving an environment capable of ensuring peace, stability and well-being of residents. This is because persistently insecure environments are capable of eroding opportunities for social capital development, constitute threats to public safety and discourage local and foreign investments (Agbola, 1997). Crime or the absence of same has been adjudged as a key indicator in assessing the prosperity of nations.
Ntamark et al. (2026) studied this question.