Two revolutionary
prototype pint glasses designed to reduce the terrible injuries
caused by nearly 87,000 glass attacks each year were unveiled at
the Design Council today by the Home Secretary Alan Johnson.
The safer pint glasses, designed not to shatter into loose and
dangerous shards, have been produced under the Design Out Crime
programme, an initiative from the Home Office’s Design &
Technology Alliance Against Crime and the Design Council.
The revolutionary prototypes – world-firsts that feature new
high-tech ways of using glass - will now undergo a range of
intensive tests before they are ready to be piloted in pubs and
bars.
Although alcohol related violence has fallen by 33 per cent since
1997 there remain 87,000 violent incidents involving glass each
year, which in addition to the impact on victims, their families
and communities, costs the NHS an estimated £2.7 billion each
year. In total alcohol related violence is estimated to cost the
UK between £8 billion and £13 billion a year.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson said:
"Glassing
causes horrific injuries and has a lasting and devastating impact
on victims and their families. I hope these designs will help
bring an end to such attacks. While this is never going to be the
only answer to preventing such violence, it is an important step
forward which could also provide retailers and drinkers with a
preferable alternative to plastic glasses.
"Tackling crime is not just about police action.
Innovation and design also have a huge impact. Technologies like
car immobilisers have helped cut vehicle crime by 57 per cent
since 1997.
"I wish the Design and Technology
Alliance and all our partners every success during the testing,
and look forward to seeing the results."
Designed to be safer, but also a more popular alternative to
plastic, the two new designs are the first major advance in
glassware for pubs since the 1960s. They are:
-Glass Plus - looks just like a regular pint glass but has a thin
transparent coating of bio-resin on the inside. This makes it
stronger and if the glass is broken it binds together dangerous
shards - drastically reducing the likelihood of injury to
customers and staff.
- Twin Wall - a revolutionary design, made by bonding two
ultra-thin layers of glass together in a concept similar to
laminated car windscreens. It makes the pint glass extremely
difficult to break, but in the event that it does smash, any
dangerous shards would be safely held together by a layer of
resin.
Specialist design consultancy Design Bridge used early research
results from InnovationRCA, the business network of the Royal
College of Art, to help create dozens of initial concepts. These
were assessed by leading glass manufacturers, materials experts,
drinks producers and pub owners before the two final solutions
were chosen.
Jeremy Myerson, Alliance lead on this project and Director of the
Helen Hamlyn Centre at the Royal College of Art, said:
"This is a major step forward and an impressive example
of using design to solve social issues and make communities safer
from crime. These solutions have the potential to reduce serious
injuries. What the designers have shown here isn’t the only
solution to the problem – there are other ways to achieve a
similar effect – but it’s about offering choice."
David Kester, Chief Executive of the Design Council and member of
the Alliance, said:
"There are many benefits here; these innovative new
designs could help protect the public and reduce the burden of
coping with glassing related injuries. In the current economic
climate it is also good to see such a thorny problem turned into a
global export opportunity for British business."
The Alliance is a group of experts from the fields of design,
industry and law enforcement whose task is to spark innovation and
encourage others to ‘think crime’ in the first stages of product
development. It asked designers to develop pint glasses that were
attractive to beer brands and pub operators, and that consumers
wanted to drink from. The solutions also had to be safer than
existing glassware.
David Helps, Director of 3D and Innovation, Design Bridge, said:
"“The beauty of these glasses is that they keep
everything British drinkers love about their pint; they look good,
work better and are safer in front and behind the bar."
Development of the prototypes and further safety testing under
laboratory conditions will now take place before the glasses are
tested in a pubs and clubs.
As part of the Design and Technology Alliance the Design Council
is already in talks with major pub chains about trialling the
Glass Plus glasses, which it is hoped will be ready within 12
months. The Twin Wall designs will be further refined in
consultation with manufacturers to investigate possible large
scale production processes.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The Design Out Crime programme is an initiative from the Home
Office’s Design & Technology Alliance Against Crime and
the Design Council. The Alliance is a group of highly respected
experts from the worlds of design, industry and law enforcement,
and they work on developing solutions to a wide range of
crime-related problems, particularly those which affect young
people, including:
- Schools – finding and applying specific design solutions to
reduce problems such as bullying, fighting and petty theft in schools;
- ‘Hot’ products – developing innovations in technology,
services and product design which help make personal electronics
more ‘crime-proof’;
- Housing Crime – re-designing Neighbourhood Watch to
reinvigorate it for the 21st Century;
- Alcohol-related Crime – finding design-led approaches to
reduce the harm caused by alcohol-related antisocial and criminal
behaviour, especially assaults in pubs and clubs;
- Business Crime – helping businesses to use design to
minimize crimes such as shoplifting and other forms of retail
theft.
For more information visit: www.designoutcrime.org.uk
2. Design has already seen significant reductions in crime:
- 90 per cent of mobile phone handsets reported stolen are now
blocked within 24 hours reducing their value and the incentive to
steal.
- The British Crime Survey figures for 2008/09 show
vehicle related theft has reduced by 57 per cent since 1997, in
part because of improved security being designed into the vehicle.
- An evaluation of houses built to the Association of Chief
Police Officers Secured By Design (SBD) standards showed that
these experience 26 per cent less crime than non SBD houses, and
residents fear of crime is lower.
3. The Design & Technology Alliance Against Crime was
established by the Home Office in 2007 and is tasked with bringing
about innovation and encouraging others to ‘think crime’ in the
first stages of design, planning and product development. It is
comprised of ten experts from the world of design industry and law
enforcement:
- Sebastian Conran (Alliance Leader –
Design), Director Sebastian Conran Associates
- Gloria Laycock
(Deputy Alliance Leader - Crime), Director of UCL Centre for
Security and Crime Science
- Joe McGeehan, Director of Centre
for Communications Research, Bristol University and Managing
Director of Toshiba Research Europe
- Sir John Sorrell, Chair
of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, and
the Sorrell Foundation
- Jeremy Myerson, Helen Hamlyn
Professor of Design, Royal College of Art and Design Council
member
- David Bott, Director of Innovation Programmes,
Technology Strategy Board
- Lorraine Gamman, Professor of
Design Studies, Central St Martins
- David Kester, Chief
Executive, Design Council
- Michael Wolff, co-founder of brand
consultancy Wolff Ollins
- Sir Paul Stephenson, Commissioner,
Metropolitan Police
4. The Design Council is the national strategic body for design.
Its mission is to inspire and enable the best use of design to
make the UK a more competitive, creative and sustainable nation.
www.designcouncil.org.uk
5. Design Bridge is an international branding agency that creates
and develops brands. The agency’s 3D and Innovation team is
renowned for its creative and technical excellence. They have
worked for many brands in sectors such as personal and home care,
and food and drinks where they have extensive experience of
developing branded packaging, beer fonts and glassware. Design
Bridge was founded in 1986, works across 40 different countries
and has offices in London, Amsterdam and Singapore. www.designbridge.com
6. For more information images or slow motion footage of the new
pint glasses being tested contact the Home Office press office on
020 7035 3535.
7. For more details on the Design Council’s involvement contact
Luke Horwill, Design Council, Marketing & Communications
Manager (Crime): 0207 420 5263, mobile: 0796 418 6686, luke.horwill@designcouncil.org.uk.
Contacts:
Home Office Press Office
Phone: 020 7035 3535
NDS.HO@coi.gsi.gov.uk