Background History

Certification for CPTED practitioners has been debated since 1980s. The 1997 ICA conference in Florida featured an open session for the discussion of the topic. The discussion re-gained its momentum about two years later when the work group was formed to establish the program and determine what the goals of certification should be. In 2004 the Practitioner and Advanced level certification was launched at the International ICA Conference in Calgary as the first and only exclusive professional CPTED certification program worldwide. The program was later updated into Basic and Advanced certification levels. The most recent update from 2021 distinguishes between CPTED Practitioner and CPTED Professional certification levels that have replaced the previous distinction between the Basic and Advanced levels.

The team that participated in the original ICA certification research and discussions for ICCP in 2000-2004: Josh Brown - Virginia, Greg Saville - New Haven CT, Paul Wong - Vancouver BC, Mike Sheard - Vancouver BC, Dan Cermak - St. Paul MN, Kim Vann - Richmond VA, Tim Crowe - Louisville KY, Jeff Eaton - Virginia Beach VA, Diane Zahm - Blacksburg VA, Rick Draper - Brisbane AUS, Tom McKay - Toronto ON, Chris Plensdorf, Paul Van Soomeren - Amsterdam NL, Tim Pascoe - London UK, Macarena Rau - Santiago Chile, Stan Carter - Atlanta GE, Barry Davidson - Calgary.

The program was since its inception coordinated by Josh Brown for 15 years. Current program coordinator is Mateja Mihinjac.

In 2019 we celebrated 15 years of the ICCP program and expanded it with the addition of the new CPTED Course Accreditation Program (CAP).

In April 2024 SVOB became the first ICA Chapter that signed an MOU with the ICA, which recognises an alignment between SVOB's CPTED certification program (REC) and the ICA's ICCP program. The MOU can be found here. 

ICCP Overview

The ICA CPTED Certification Program - called the ICCP - is a competency-based certification program. It is intended for individuals experienced in crime prevention with a focus on CPTED who would like to have their competencies recognised and certified by the only internationally represented professional CPTED organisation - the ICA. In brief, the overarching goal of the ICCP is both to "test" the applicant and also to "educate" the applicant by mentoring through the certification process and providing feedback to applicants.

The Program distinguishes between two levels:

• ICCP Certified CPTED Practitioner (ICCP-Practitioner) - Intended for CPTED practitioners with demonstrated mastery in applying best CPTED research and practice. The candidates are required to demonstrate competency in 8 Competency Units outlined below.

• ICCP Certified CPTED Professional (ICCP-Professional) - Intended for CPTED professionals with the most advanced level of CPTED competency and contribution to the field of CPTED. The candidates are required to demonstrate competency in 11 Competency Units outlined below.

Practitioner and Professional Certification

The ICA distinguishes between Practitioner and Professional level of certification. The Practitioner level requires completion of 8 Core Competencies and the Professional level requires completion of all 11 Core Competencies. The competency units for each level are schematically presented below. For a detailed description of competency units and their core subjects click on an individual Competency Unit in the table below.

Click on the Competency Unit in the table to read more about that unit requirements.

Shaded areas – mark a mandatory competency unit for the Practitioner/Professional level

Competency Unit	Competency Unit Title	Practitioner	Professional
Competency Unit #01	Define the scope of the task/project
Competency Unit #02	Work as part of a multidisciplinary team
Competency Unit #03	Undertake research in the nominated environment
Competency Unit #04	Read and interpret plans and drawings
Competency Unit #05	Read and interpret plans and drawings – Advanced
Competency Unit #06	Apply knowledge of regulatory processes
Competency Unit #07	Analyze and assess local conditions
Competency Unit #08	Compile written report
Competency Unit #09	Assess and apply CPTED options
Competency Unit #10	Apply CPTED principles in a specialist setting
Competency Unit #11	Prepare a crime prevention/CPTED implementation plan

Note:

The ICCP program is distinct from the ICA Course Accreditation Program (CAP), a separate program in which ICA approves a full CPTED Course for certification (Class A), or a course in which an individual (or up to 7) Core Competency/ies is approved (Class B). More information available here. 

We offer a streamlined process for ICCP candidates who have completed an ICA CAP-accredited course (so called "CAP stream"):

• Applicants who had successfully completed a Class A CAP course will fast-track through the ICCP Competency Matrix in which they will only submit the information relating to their independent project - if applying for ICCP - Professional level - they will also submit information for the 3 outstanding competencies that are not included in the course. 
• Applicants who had successfully completed a Class B CAP course with an approved Core Competency/ies will fill out the ICCP Competency Matrix during ICCP certification as normal, but will fast-track through the Core Competencies already completed in the Class B CAP course.  

More information about the "CAP stream" pathway available here.

The ICCP Certification Process (Practitioner/Professional)

An overview of the Certification Process - for more information refer to Certification Process phases below.

In brief, the ICCP is divided into three phases:

PHASE 1 - The Application

This phase requires that you fill the Application (Google form / Word) in full and pay the prescribed application fee. The Google form application will be submitted through the system; if completing the Word application, please email it to the Certification Coordinator or upload via the safe upload link. Please note that all personal information is kept confidential by the ICA Certification Coordinator and the Certification Committee members. 

You should specify in your application whether you are applying for Practitioner (ICCP-Practitioner) or Professional (ICCP-Professional) Certification. The Practitioner level requires completion of 8 Core Competencies and the Professional level requires completion of all 11 Core Competencies. These are described on ICCP Competency Units page.

What you need to do:

• Review the program requirements
• Complete payment
• Complete the ICCP Certification Application (Google form / Word) indicating the certification level you are applying for and submit it via Google form or using this safe upload link or email it to Certification Coordinator

PHASE 2 - ICCP Competency Matrix

NOTE: The graduates of CAP-accredited courses fast-track through this step - read about the CAP-stream pathway below.

Once you have formally applied, you then begin to assemble the information for your ICCP Competency Matrix (previously CPTED Record Book). The Matrix can be downloaded here. You will need to submit the ICCP Competency Matrix together with supporting documentation to the submission link.

There is no prescribed time limit for completion of the ICCP Competency Matrix, however, it is advised that the applicant completes the process within two (2) years. It should be viewed as a collaborative learning process between the Committee or the Mentor and the applicant. 

There are a few points to remember about the ICCP Competency Matrix:

• Keep in mind ICCP certification is based on 11 Core Competencies (Professional) or 8 Core Competencies (Practitioner) and 12 Core Subject areas. 
  
• The 11 (or 8) Core Competencies are activities you must demonstrate by completing (a) prior experience, (b) specific project(s), and (c) submitted proofs columns in the Matrix.
• Your ICCP Competency Matrix provides the evidence that you have completed the Core Competency Units and the Core Subject areas outlined on the ICCP Competency Units page.

What you need to do:

• Review Competency Units and Core Subject areas in the ICCP Competency Units page
  
• Complete the ICCP Competency Matrix - download it here
• Assemble supporting materials (reports, publications, presentations...) that you will submit together with the Matrix
• Submit these documentation materials using the safe submission link or the email specified below

Accelerated Pathway Towards ICCP Certification (CAP Stream candidates only)

Students, who successfully complete either Class A or Class B accredited CPTED course and then apply for their own personal ICCP certification, will receive credit for those relevant competencies and will fast-track through those competencies when completing the ICCP Competency Matrix. Note that ICCP application needs to be submitted within 2 years following the completion of their ICCP course.

• In the case of Class A, ICCP applicants will fast-track through the ICCP Competency Matrix process where they will only have to indicate where in the submitted additional project report they have applied a specific competency (assuming they have completed the additional project(s) requirement that they will send to Certification Committee). If they wish to pursue ICCP-Professional certification, they will need to complete the Matrix for the three advanced competencies (#5, #10, #11) not covered in the course as per regular process.
• In the case of Class B, ICCP applicants will accelerate through the ICCP Competency Matrix process (i.e. they will fast-track through the Competency Units completed when taking the CAP course, however, their application will need to be demonstrated in the submitted project report(s) and then indicated in the Competency Matrix where those competencies were applied).

In both cases, CAP Instructors need to advise students that when they successfully complete the course, they will need to provide the following to apply for ICCP Certification Pathway via "CAP stream":

1. A Certificate of course completion.
2. Letter of Approval - Evidence of successful completion of Class A/B course, including competencies covered by the course and a written recommendation from the Lead Instructor about the candidate's performance in the course and their eligibility to apply for ICCP certification.
3. Project Report(s) from additional independent project(s) - In addition to successful completion of a CPTED project during the Class A course covering all 8 core competencies of that course, ICCP candidates will also need to show us a project report(s) from the project(s) they completed as a Primary CPTED Practitioner following Class A course that integrate(s) all 8 competencies from that course. The candidate will then need to indicate in the ICCP Competency Matrix - CAP stream where in their report(s) the specific competency is evident. A short description of how these competencies were applied in the project might be required if not evident from the report as well. If the evidence is sufficient, the applicants will qualify for ICCP-Practitioner certification (check point 4 below for how to obtain ICCP-Professional certification). | The ICCP candidates who completed a Class B course need to adequately demonstrate competency in the independent project report(s) that demonstrate(s) application of those competencies and then indicate in the ICCP Competency Matrix where in the report those competencies were covered. For all the remaining competency units not covered in the Class B course they will need to complete the ICCP Competency Matrix as per regular process.
4. Description of the remaining 3 competencies (ICCP-Professional applicants only) - ICCP applicants who have completed a Class A course and who wish to apply for ICCP-Professional certification level will also need to demonstrate in submitted project report(s) the 3 advanced Professional-level competencies (#5, #10 and #11 - see the ICCP Competency Units page outlining competency unit requirements). For these reports the candidate will have to complete the ICCP Competency Matrix as per regular process, and submit the necessary documentation for those competencies. For ICCP-Professional applicants who have completed a Class B course, the ICCP Competency Matrix needs to be completed and documentation presented for all the remaining competencies (out of all 11) that were not covered in the course while for the competencies covered in the course they will only have to indicate where in the submitted independent reports where in the report they have been applied.  

There is no prescribed time limit for completion of the ICCP Competency Matrix, however, it is advised that the applicant completes the process within two (2) years. It should be viewed as a collaborative learning process between the Committee or the Mentor and the applicant. 

At the end of the process, all ICCP candidates will need to undergo a written take-home or oral Zoom or in-person exam as described below. 

PHASE 3 - The Exam

The exam takes place when all the required Core Competencies are completed to the satisfaction of the Certification Review Committee. 

The exam format is described in the Exam Guidelines document. There are two forms of exam: written and oral. The written exam comprises a written response to questions that is assessed by the Certification Committee and is generally completed online as a "take home" exam. The applicant will submit six (6) questions for the exam from which Certification Committee will select three or four (3 or 4) questions, or modify or add additional questions if necessary to adequately address understanding of demonstrated core competencies. We also offer this exam modality as an oral exam option completed in an online meeting between the Review Committee and the candidate via Zoom.

The oral exam is also assessed by Certification Committee members, however it will take place at a regional conference, the ICA bi-annual conference, or other gatherings in which Committee members are assembled. The oral exam will comprise two parts: a) first, the Certification Committee will attend the candidates' conference presentation and assemble questions that might emerge; b) second, shortly following their presentation, each candidate will sit for a 30 minute oral exam in a private place. Each Certification Committee member will ask a few questions and follow-up questions. Following the oral exam the Committee will issue the grade (pass/fail) and notify the candidate of the outcome.

Exam questions for both written and oral exam modality will include topics related to the core competencies. They may draw from the ICCP Competency Matrix or conference presentation and also from theoretical understanding of the CPTED field. In preparation for your ICCP certification and exam, these ICCP Preparatory Exam Questions include some important topics you should know and themes you should be able to describe with confidence. 

What you need to do:

• Review Exam Guidelines document
• Communicate with your Mentor/Certification Coordinator to discuss exam modality
• Review Preparatory Exam Questions

NOTE:

Certification is only open to ICA members in good standing and costs CA$315 (Canadian Dollars) payable using our electronic payment system below. Check payments in CA$ or US$ are also possible if electronic payment is not possible - contact us for more information.

Certification needs to be completed within 2 years of initial application. If the applicant has not provided all the relevant documentation within this time, they will need to reapply and start the process from the beginning. 

 

Upon successful completion of the requirements successful certification applicants will receive a certificate stating their level and date of certification. Every ICCP practitioner will need to remain ICA member in good standing through the life of their certification status in order for their status not to be revoked. Note that certified individuals will need to re-certify every three (3) years to retain their ICCP certification status. Re-certification is a shorter and streamlined process - for more information see below.

If you are CPTED certified through the ICA, and would like to serve on a Certification Review Team, contact us through the Certification Coordinator.