Target hardening

Image:national.security.parliament.arp.750pix.Clean.jpg in London, UK. This hostile vehicle mitigation is a common form of target hardening and is designed to prevent a vehicle being rammed into the building or into people on the pavement next to the building. It also enforces a zone of protective stand-off from any explosive detonation location]]

Target hardening, also referred to simply as hardening when made clear by the context, is a term used by police officers, those working in security, and the military referring to the strengthening of the security of a building or installation in order to protect it in the event of attack or reduce the risk of theft.{{cite web |url=https://www.businesscrimedirect.org.uk/page.asp?pagekey=115 |title=Target Hardening |publisher=Business Crime Direct |accessdate=2007-11-30 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071216001153/http://www.businesscrimedirect.org.uk/page.asp?pagekey=115 |archivedate=2007-12-16 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/police/crimeprevention/HSTarget.htm |title=Target Hardening |publisher=Vancouver Police Department |accessdate=2007-11-30 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060831001128/http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/police/crimeprevention/HSTarget.htm |archivedate=August 31, 2006 }} It is believed that a "strong, visible defense will deter or delay an attack".{{cite web|url=http://www.apsu.edu/oconnort/3440/3440lect06a.htm|title=Approaches to Target Hardening|accessdate=2007-11-30|publisher=Austin Peay State University|author=Tom O'Connor |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070712144216/http://www.apsu.edu/oconnort/3440/3440lect06a.htm |archivedate = 2007-07-12}}

In terms of business and home security, target hardening{{cite web|title=Operation GIBWATCH|url=http://www.police.gi/1/images/CPRU_XMAS_2015/documents/The_10_principles_of_crime_prevention.pdf|publisher=Royal Gibraltar Police|accessdate=3 July 2017}} is one of the suite of protective measures that are included in crime prevention through environmental design.{{cite journal|last1=Cozens|first1=P.|last2=Love|first2=T.|title=A Review and Current Status of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED)|journal=Journal of Planning Literature|date=6 August 2015|volume=30|issue=4|page=4|doi=10.1177/0885412215595440|s2cid=55959202 |url=http://www.veilig-ontwerp-beheer.nl/publicaties/a-review-and-current-status-of-crime-prevention-through-environmental-design-cpted|accessdate=3 July 2017|url-access=subscription}} This can include ensuring all doors and windows are sourced and fitted in such a way that they can resist forcible and surreptitious intruder attack, adding hard barriers and landscapes that resist vehicle and pedestrian intrusion, adding fences, walls and hostile planting.{{cite web|title=Defensive plants, shrubs and trees (shrub fences) {{!}} The Crime Prevention Website|url=https://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/garden-boundaries-fences-and-defensive-plants/618/defensive-plants-shrubs-and-trees-shrub-fences/|website=thecrimepreventionwebsite.com|accessdate=3 July 2017}} All of these are greatly assisted by removing or pruning any trees or bushes that could offer suitable hiding places or could be used to climb to a higher level of the property. However, for a business, taking target hardening too far can send the wrong message out to potential customers.{{cite web |url=http://www1.br.cc.va.us/murray/research/cpted/target_hardening/default.htm |title=Target Hardening |publisher=Blue Ridge Community College |author=Joseph Murrary |accessdate=2007-11-30 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914013430/http://www1.br.cc.va.us/murray/research/cpted/target_hardening/default.htm |archivedate=2008-09-14 }}

In military or counter-terrorism terms, target hardening refers to ensuring strategic or tactical assets are secured against adversary attack.{{cite web|url=http://www.apsu.edu/oconnort/3410/3410lect08a.htm|author=Tom O'Connor|publisher=Austin Peay State University|title=Incident Management of Domestic Terrorism|accessdate=2007-11-30 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070713203405/http://www.apsu.edu/oconnort/3410/3410lect08a.htm |archivedate = 2007-07-13}}

Other more specific terms associated with target hardening include hostile vehicle mitigation{{cite web|title=Hostile vehicle mitigation {{!}} Public Website|url=https://www.cpni.gov.uk/hostile-vehicle-mitigation|website=www.cpni.gov.uk|accessdate=3 July 2017|language=en}} and "blast hardening".[https://archive.today/20130116093708/http://ammtiac.alionscience.com/ammt/iacdocs.do?AM003384 Designing Blast Hardened Structures for Military and Civilian Use (abstract)]