A great article by Treehugger that talks about the UK-based research centre Design Against Crime (DAC).

Design Against Crime

An example is the Grippa project initiated in 2004. The aim was to create ‘anti bag theft furniture’ and ‘anti bag theft furniture accessories’ for bar and restaurant environments and test those for effectiveness in reducing theft as well as avoiding forgotten or abandoned bags which leads to a safer and cleaner environment.

Read more at Treehugger