RICK ARRINGTON
Founder/CEO and Lead Instructor
The Crime Prevention Center for Training and Services’ Chief Executive Officer and founder and lead consultant/instructor is Richard L. “Rick” Arrington. Rick is internationally known in the field of Crime Prevention as an expert.
Richard “Rick” Arrington is a former Military Policeman who later served for over 26 years in various capacities at the City of Roanoke, Virginia Police Department, leading transition to a community oriented philosophy and leader in the state in crime prevention efforts. During this time he engaged in one of the first bully prevention projects using the Olweus tool and partnering with Radford University. After obtaining grant funds he initiated a project to serve the Vietnamese community, assisting the local office of the F.B.I in eliminating the infiltration of a Vietnamese gang in the city and leading to a trusting relationship in the Vietnamese community as well. Prior to his retirement in 2006 as a Zone Commander overseeing one fourth of the city, he led his zone to significant decreases in crime through institutionalizing problem solving responsibilities for his officers. He believed in the Prevention First concept and specialized in crime prevention. He was first certified as a specialist in 1996. He was certified in the early 1990s in Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) at the University of Louisville, KY, National Crime Prevention Institute. He was promoted and all community services placed under his supervision including SRO, DARE, Community Policing, etc.
After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Mr. Arrington drew on his knowledge and experience and created an interactive computer-based instrument, based upon CPTED principles, to assist crime prevention practitioners in conducting security assessments in a number of different facilities. He later developed a tool in 2006, which was used by the Bureau of Indian Education to evaluate vulnerabilities in the over 6,000 tribal schools. He served in various leadership roles with the state’s crime prevention association and led to the creation of the Safer by Design committee within the association.
In 2006 Rick was hired by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and served as the Crime Prevention Programs Manager and crime prevention subject matter expert for the Commonwealth of Virginia. In that capacity he provided technical assistance, developed and presented training on the topic of prevention in Virginia. In 2013, as a resource to the Governor’s School Safety Task Force, he became the principal architect in designing the current Code of Virginia mandated “School Security Checklist,” and has trained hundreds of school staff and School Resource Officers in how to conduct vulnerability assessments within schools. He also served on a subcommittee to recommend changes to requirements for new school construction to enhance safety at the same time.
Arrington was the fourth in the nation to receive the National Crime Prevention Specialist Level II certification. He has served on the National Fire Protection Association’s Premises Security Committee, is one of less than a dozen professionals to serve on the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries’ (ISRI) National Law Enforcement Advisory Committee to address metal theft and served on the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Crime Prevention Committee from 2018 until 2024. He served on the IACP 2018 School Liaison Working Group to review past model policies, concepts and issues.
During his career, Arrington has conducted hundreds of security assessments, participated in developing safer greenways through team support and plan input, gave plan input in designing public safety facilities, public housing and renovations of public schools, all with an eye toward safer environments.
In 2007 Arrington published a text entitled, Crime Prevention-A Law Enforcement Officer’s Practical Guide (Jones and Bartlett Pub.), which was used by many in the proactive policing field as their desk reference for addressing crime and developing better relationships within their communities. Having presented seminars related to safety in faith based organizations for numerous years, in September 2015 Rick published a small text entitled, Securing the Faithful (Sunset Institute Press). An expert in CPTED applications, he was cited in the 2018 released text by Lawrence Fennelly and Marianna Perry, CPTED and Traditional Security Countermeasures- 150 Things You Should Know. He has submitted a chapter to be included in their new book yet to be released.
Rick has published numerous articles on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design and other prevention applications in various trade periodicals. He was published in Police Chief Magazine, Police1 News, and other trade periodicals ion topics for which he holds expertise.
His consultation in school districts, public safety buildings, trails, and other structures are producing success as they implement many of his recommendations. He maintains contact long after the contracts are complete as part of his service to them. He also serves as a consultant to a Fortune 100 engineering and design firm as related to security input and review.
Rick has taught thousands in the field for which he is passionate, crime prevention, and the Center continues to certify new “Law Enforcement CPTED Practitioners” who have demonstrated their proficiency in CPTED through examination and submission of a product for review.