01.
Police-backed scheme
Operated by Police Crime Prevention Initiatives, an organisation owned by the UK Police Service. Backed by the National Police Chiefs’ Council. The accreditation is a police designation, not a private kitemark.
Secured by Design.
Held since 2016.
Police-backed crime prevention accreditation, held directly by Fort Engineering Ltd as the manufacturer. SBD is a scheme membership, not a product test – it sits alongside our LPCB product certifications rather than in place of them. Frequently a procurement precondition in housing, education, and healthcare.
Secured by Design (SBD) is the UK police service’s flagship crime prevention initiative. Run by Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (CPI), a body owned by the UK Police Service, and backed by the National Police Chiefs’ Council. The badge isn’t a brand mark – it’s a police designation, awarded to companies whose products and practices align with what the police consider effective crime prevention.
Fort Engineering has been an SBD member since 2016, holding the licence at the manufacturer level. That means the full Fort product range sits under the scheme, with specific product compliance (PAS 24 for housing, for example) carried at the customer brand level where it’s manufactured for end customers.
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How SBD works
A membership scheme, not a product test.
SBD is structurally different from the LPCB certifications you’ve seen elsewhere on this site. It’s worth understanding what kind of credential it actually is, especially if you’re cross-referencing it against LPS 1175 or PAS 24 in a tender pack.
02.
Manufacturer-level membership
Unlike LPS 1175, which certifies individual products against a tested attack profile, SBD certifies the company. Fort Engineering Ltd holds the licence; the full product range manufactured under it inherits the scheme’s framework.
03.
Wider than security alone
SBD’s framework covers designing out crime in the built environment – sightlines, lighting, layout – alongside physical security. For products specifically, the PAS 24 compliance often referenced next to SBD is what carries the physical security claim.
04.
Annual review cycle
SBD members are reviewed annually. The licence renews on a cycle, with ongoing commitment to scheme principles and demonstrated compliance. Membership lapses if the annual review isn’t completed.
Worth flagging. If a tender asks for both SBD membership AND a specific product compliance (PAS 24, LPS 1175, BS 8621), those are two different things. Fort holds SBD at this level; the product-specific compliance for a given tender sits with the customer brand and product fulfilling the order.
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Where it comes up
The sectors that ask for SBD.
SBD has named sub-schemes for different sectors (SBD New Homes, SBD Commercial, SBD Schools, and so on). The mapping below is where we see the cert turn up most often in UK procurement, with the specific SBD scheme name flagged where it applies.
01 / Sector
Housing
SBD New Homes · SBD Refurbished Homes
The biggest single use of SBD. Housing associations, local authority new builds, and social housing developers routinely cite SBD as a tender requirement. Frequently paired with PAS 24 compliance under Building Regulations Part Q.
02 / Sector
Education
SBD Schools
Schools, colleges, and FE buildings. SBD’s principles align with the counter-terror reviews now standard on new education builds. Often referenced alongside BB67 and BB68 guidance.
03 / Sector
Healthcare
SBD Hospitals · Generic SBD
NHS estates teams reference SBD for mental health facilities, secure psychiatric wards, paediatric units, and any healthcare site where the threat profile or vulnerable-population considerations call for it.
04 / Sector
Commercial
SBD Commercial
Retail premises, hospitality, mixed-use developments. Less common than the housing or education use cases but turns up on planning conditions for sensitive locations, especially in city centres.
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Documents
The actual licence.
SBD doesn’t run a public verification register the way LPCB does with RedBook Live. Member status is confirmed directly with Police CPI, or by requesting the current licence from us.
01
Secured by Design Member Licence
Held since 2016
Current status
SBD membership is held continuously by Fort Engineering Ltd since 2016. The licence is currently in renewal with Police CPI – the renewed document will be available on request once it lands. Procurement teams who need a dated current-status confirmation for a tender pack should get in touch directly and we’ll route the right document through, or put you in contact with CPI to verify scheme membership independently.
Need SBD confirmation for a tender?
Tell us the project type (housing, education, healthcare, commercial) and the deadline. We’ll send the right confirmation through, with the appropriate sub-scheme reference for your sector.
Specifying SBD on a live project?
Fort manufactures, the customer brands sell. SBD-aligned product compliance (PAS 24 for housing, hardware specs for schools, secure-by-design hardware for healthcare) is handled at the brand level. Pick the route that fits the project.