Crime Prevention Consultancy

Safer space through planning.

Over 25 years of experience in spatial crime prevention, technical burglary protection and standards-compliant vehicle access protection — for municipalities, associations, businesses and event organisers.

25+
Years of experience in spatial crime prevention
43
Expert talks at national and international conferences
DIN
SPEC 91414 · ISO 22343 · ISO IWA 14 — standards-compliant concepts

Advice that works in practice.

Spatial crime prevention is internationally recognised as one of the most effective strategies. It does more than reduce opportunities — it shapes public spaces so that people feel safe and security becomes measurable.

Consultancy for municipalities

Crime-prevention advisory opinions in urban land-use planning, safer-neighbourhood concepts, hot-spot analysis, crime mapping. Support from planning through implementation — including measures eligible under the KfW IKK 208 funding programme.

Consultancy for associations

Expert support for industry associations, contribution to standards and guidelines, training concepts and presentations — from DIN SPEC 91414 to municipal prevention work.

Consultancy for businesses

Technical burglary protection since 1995 — against break-ins, theft, robbery and threats. Includes staff training on handling aggressive individuals.

Consultancy for the home

Honest, manufacturer-independent recommendations for living spaces. What actually works, what is a waste of money — and what fits your daily routine.

Method

Six considerations before every access-protection concept.

A concept that merely simulates a sense of security undermines credibility. Every project therefore follows a clear sequence — from threat situation through to standards-compliant product selection.

01

Preparation

Identify the threat situation and weigh the consequences of action against those of inaction.

02

Hazard analysis

Visitor numbers, VIP status, cultural context, significance of the location — the consequences of a possible vehicle ramming attack must be given due consideration.

03

Protection objective

Define precisely what the access-protection concept is meant to achieve — for example, preventing the uncontrolled entry of heavy vehicles.

04

Vulnerability analysis

Determine and delimit the protection zone (perimeter). Rescue and escape routes as well as essential access ways are integrated, not ignored.

05

Protection concept

Standards-compliant elaboration to ISO IWA 14-2: offender behaviour, access points, routes — and the expected attack forces are calculated.

06

Product selection

Concrete product requirements emerge from the calculated impact loads. Only certified products tested to international standards qualify.

Vehicle Access Protection

Cityscape-compatible. Standards-compliant. Calculated.

Protection against vehicle ramming attacks does not begin with bollards but with analysis. Together with planning offices, security providers and municipalities we develop concepts that are viable in public space — in design, in law, and in technology.

Powered by ViaGuardium

Calculation and documentation: digital, audit-ready, vendor-neutral.

The ViaGuardium software translates our methodology into a map-based workflow: impact energy, momentum and velocity per access point — calculated automatically, AI-assisted threat analysis, audit-ready PDF reports. The calculation foundations follow current DIN and ISO standards; recommendations remain vendor-neutral.

DIN SPEC 91414-2 DIN ISO 22343-2 ISO IWA 14-2 CPTED

Christian Weicht also oversees the Vehicle Access Protection product list published by the Crime Prevention Office of the German Police (ProPK) — the technical interface between manufacturers, police, and users.

viaguardium.com →
References

Clients and partners.

A selection of authorities, research institutions, foundations and companies Christian Weicht has worked with over the past two decades.

BRE Trust, United Kingdom
Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Switzerland
Bundesverband Parken e.V. (German Parking Association)
Deutscher Präventionstag (German Prevention Congress)
German Forum for Crime Prevention
EBP Switzerland AG
European Institute for Crime Prevention
State Criminal Police Office of Hesse
Hesse Police Academy, Wiesbaden
INFA-ISFM e.V.
ILS NRW – Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development
Konrad Adenauer Foundation
Saarland State Institute for Preventive Action
Oberspreewald-Lausitz District
Mobimo AG
Resopal GmbH
SBB Real Estate
Swiss Crime Prevention
Schüco International KG
City of Lucerne
TMP Fenster
German Window and Façade Association (VFF)
WFZ Ruhr e.V.

Selected projects

  • Aeschbachquartier Aarau (AQA) — crime-prevention support during planning Mobimo AG · EBP Switzerland AG · Aarau, Switzerland
  • Crime-prevention assessment of SBB railway stations SBB Real Estate · EBP Switzerland AG · Switzerland
  • Crime-prevention assessment of the Zentralbahn corridor City of Lucerne · EBP Switzerland AG
  • Enforcement guidance on avoiding unnecessary light emissions Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Switzerland
  • DIN SPEC 91414-1 "Requirements for mobile vehicle security barriers" Contribution to standards development
Talks (43)
  • Digital twins for vehicle-attack protection barriers2nd Vehicle.Security.Barrier.Conference · Münster · 24/25 Sep 2024
  • Vehicle Access Protection — CompactWith Detlev Schürmann · BHE Forum · Security Essen · 18 Sep 2024
  • Urban-planning crime prevention — norms and standards29th Deutscher Präventionstag · Cottbus · 10/11 Jun 2024
  • Threat scenarios — isn't it about time we took this seriously?Panel discussion · IBIT24 · 2024
  • Integrated cityscape-compatible security concepts and standards-compliant access protectionBerlin, Breitscheidplatz · June 2019
  • Integrated cityscape-compatible security concepts24th Deutscher Präventionstag · Berlin
  • Offender profiles in the context of European vehicle ramming attacksConference on counter-terror barriers · Münster
  • Protecting public spaces against vehicle ramming attacksCounter-Terror Barriers and Access Protection 2019 · GPEC EMW
  • How to Convince Municipal Stakeholders of Access ProtectionPerimeter Protection Germany · February 2019
  • Crime Mapping Marker — participation process for crime-prevention spatial and urban planningWest Palatinate Police HQ · 30 Aug 2018
  • City-compatible safeguards against vehicle ramming attacksCrime Prevention Council Düsseldorf
  • Effective crisis prevention at schools in North Rhine-WestphaliaConference on Safety in Educational Institutions
  • The path to a safer city runs through the hot spotState Criminal Police Office of Hesse · Wiesbaden · 26 Nov 2013
  • From theory into practice — integrating crime-prevention advisory opinions into urban planning14th Conference on Municipal Crime Prevention · St. Ingbert · 26 Nov 2014
  • From technical burglary protection to the safer neighbourhood18th Deutscher Präventionstag · Bielefeld · 23 Apr 2013
  • Spatial crime prevention — youth in public space17th Deutscher Präventionstag · Munich · 17 Apr 2012
  • CPTED in Germany — Situation 2005EC COPS Conference · London · September 2005
  • CPTED-Strategy in Nordrhein-Westfalen / GermanyICA World Congress 2003 · Amsterdam · 25 Sep 2003
  • Crime prevention through environmental design — European experiences10th Deutscher Präventionstag · Hannover · 29 Apr 2003
  • … and 24 further talks at police authorities, foundations, universities and trade associations since 1999.
Publications (25)
  • Vehicle access protection of public spaces against ramming attacksWith Detlev Schürmann M.A. · Crisis Prevention · Issue 4/2025
  • Applied Crime Prevention at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg — in conversation and on siteWith Detlev Schürmann M.A. · Crisis Prevention · Issue 4/2024
  • Vehicle attack — access protection, rampage, crime preventionWith Detlev Schürmann M.A. · Crisis Prevention · Issue 2/2024
  • Urban planning — a foundation of internal security architectureWith Detlev Schürmann M.A. · Crisis Prevention · Issue 3/2022, pp. 20–23
  • Phenomenology of vehicle ramming attacks / Access Protection package for municipalitiesWith Detlev Schürmann M.A. · Crisis Prevention · Issue 2/2022, pp. 12–14
  • Protecting public spaces against vehicle ramming attacksWith Detlev Schürmann M.A. · Deutsches Polizeiblatt · 2019
  • Vehicle security barriers and access protection, part 2With Detlev Schürmann M.A. · Polizei Technik + Verkehr · 2019
  • Protecting public spaces against vehicle ramming attacks — developing integrated conceptsWith Detlev Schürmann M.A. · Forum Kriminalprävention · 2019
  • The path to a safer city runs through the hot spotForum Kriminalprävention · 2014
  • It's all about the right designWith Detlev Schürmann M.A. · WIK Magazine for Security · 2012
  • Spatial crime prevention — youth in public spaceForum Verlag Godesberg · 2012
  • Environmental Resource Crime: Protection and Prevention StrategiesWith Robert Weicht · Nomos Verlag
  • Places of fear as zones of social disorderEildienst · 2009
  • Reviewing security aspects in new development areasDie Polizei · 2005
  • Detmold Study — residential burglaries in the Lippe DistrictS+S Report / VdS · 1999
  • … and 10 further contributions to journals, edited volumes and studies since 1997.
Research & Teaching

Practice meets science.

Since late 2019 I have led, together with criminologist Detlev Schürmann, the research division Applied Crime Prevention and Accompanying Scientific Research at the Chair of Architecture and Visualisation (Prof. Dominik Lengyel) of BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg — the only research division of its kind nationwide at an architecture chair.

Protecting public spaces

Initiated after the 2016 Berlin Breitscheidplatz attack. With financial support from the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) and in cooperation with ProPK, two DIN standards, a guidance document for municipalities, and the Vehicle Access Protection product list emerged.

Digital twins

Numerical simulation of vehicle attacks — impact energy and deformation behaviour can today be calculated on the model, replacing costly real-world testing. Presented at the 2nd Vehicle.Security.Barrier.Conference Münster (09/2024).

Crime-prevention product design

How can street furniture, building components and products be designed so that they reduce crime opportunities — without being perceived as security technology? A dedicated research line at the BTU division.

Crisis Prevention

Regular contributions to the trade magazine Crisis Prevention (CPM Verlag) — most recently „Vehicle access protection of public spaces against ramming attacks“ in issue 4/2025, plus a profile feature on the BTU research division in 4/2024.

Sponsors and partners: Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) · German Research Foundation (DFG) · Crime Prevention Office of the German Police (ProPK) · BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg.

Portrait Christian Weicht
Christian Weicht · Detective Chief Inspector (ret.)

Spatial crime prevention — from practice, for practice.

For over 25 years I have been working on how crime is shaped by spatial design. It became clear to me early on that spatial crime prevention can do far more than merely avoid or remove fear-inducing places.

Today, spatial crime prevention is internationally recognised as one of the most successful and effective strategies. Avoiding and resolving spatial crime problems is one of my core competencies.

On the following pages you will find strategies and information on how spatial crime prevention can be applied effectively, and how I integrate it into planning processes. Please get in touch — I am happy to answer questions or hear suggestions.

Yours, Christian Weicht

Contact

Get in touch.

For an initial, no-obligation conversation, please use the form or the direct contact channels below.

Address
Klopstockstraße 10
32657 Lemgo · Germany
Phone
+49 (0) 5261 660 311
Mobile
+49 (0) 173 857 5047
Email
kontakt@weicht.ch

I aim to respond to your message as quickly as possible and look forward to being of help.