Housing associations losing out in fight against nuisance

Registered social landlords are being unfairly treated in the fight against antisocial behaviour, it emerged this week.

Compared with other stakeholders, RSLs are winning fewer seats on crime and disorder reduction partnerships. And some are being left to pick up the bill for antisocial behaviour orders, which can cost up to £5000 each.

A survey of the 230 members of the Social Landlords Crime and Nuisance Group found that three out of 10 housing associations did not have a place on their local CDRP. By contrast, almost all councils played an active role in their local partnership.

Introduced by the 1988 Crime and Disorder Act 1988, crime and disorder reduction partnerships were intended to provide a forum in which community organisations could devise crime reduction strategies and share information and best practice.

Police authorities and councils have an automatic seat on CDRPs, whereas interested bodies like RSLs are only allowed to join with the agreement of the partnership board. That agreement is not always forthcoming.

Tim Winter, national coordinator for the Social Landlords Crime and Nuisance Group, said: "Some CDRPs include associations; others don't. Some partnerships just don't want to invite all parties with an interest to join.

Some organisations just don’t want all parties with an interest to join

Tim Winter, Social Landlords Crime and Nuisance Group

"Not having a seat on the partnership, however, means housing associations don't have access to information about individuals and antisocial behaviour practice."

Winter said the problem was worse for large associations that operated over a number of local authority areas and, as a result, had to deal with numerous partnerships.

"In some areas a group of housing associations have joined together to put one member on their local CDRP," Winter said.

The Social Landlords Crime and Nuisance Group plans to lobby government for guidance on who should pay for antisocial behaviour orders.

The survey uncovered a growing number of associations that want local police authorities and councils to share the cost of taking out the orders. Before December 2002, only police authorities and council could take out ASBOs.