Learning won't slip through the net

New legislative powers have been introduced for social landlords to deal with antisocial behaviour. Partnerships have sprung up to coordinate multi-agency working. On the policy side, improving the confidence of victims and witnesses in the criminal justice system is now a priority – especially among black and minority-ethnic communities. There is a whole raft of government proposals to address the issue, including victim and witness centres run by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Getting a handle on this fast-moving scene is a challenge but Race Action Net's relaunched website, unveiled last week, is a good place to start. The network's members now include not only housing associations and councils but also police services and criminal justice agencies.

The site sets out new knowledge on dealing with racial harassment in housing.

It shows how justice agencies identify different types of perpetrator, investigate incidents, take legal action and work with racially motivated offenders. There's a section on victims, witnesses and communities with guidance on the reporting and recording of incidents.

For social landlords there is detailed information on how to take non-criminal legal action. There are also new sections on building cohesive communities, and on the statutory duty to promote race equality.

In responding to racial harassment, organisations can learn a lot from sectors other than their own. Housing officers, for example, might be interested to see how programmes run by the London Probation Service categorise perpetrators. The typology it uses shows how racial harassment takes many forms:

• "thrill-seekers" are often young, opportunistic and commit other antisocial acts; they attack the most vulnerable and don't understand the impact on their victims
  
• "reactive defenders" are typically older, often the neighbours of the people they harass; their behaviour can be affected by alcohol and they hark back to a better past, resentful of the "special treatment" they say members of racial minorities are receiving
  
• "mission offenders" are politically motivated, sometimes involved with extreme right-wing parties or groups; they can be "loners", such as the man who placed the nail bombs in the Admiral Duncan pub in Soho and in Brick Lane, both in London, in 1999; attacks are premeditated and can involve serious violence.

Know your enemy
Being able to identify different types of perpetrator is essential for a housing manager who is dealing with a complaint.

The probation service’s typology of perpetrators of racial harassment can help housing officers decide what action to take

It has a significant impact on assessing risk and deciding what action to take.

While diversionary or educational approaches might be appropriate for thrill-seekers, these methods are less likely to be effective in dealing with hardened mission offenders.

Criminal justice agencies also need to learn about the work of social landlords.

What happens when an antisocial behaviour order is breached and becomes a matter for criminal proceedings, for example? Social landlord members of Race Action Net point to reluctance on the part of the CPS to take on such cases.

This hesitancy could be due to lack of familiarity with the legislation – which should be able to be overcome through improved communication and exchange of knowledge.

There are examples of effective work between civil and criminal agencies that all practitioners can learn from. Hounslow Community Safety Partnership – which comprises all local authority directorates, the Metropolitan police, Middlesex Probation Service and housing associations operating in Hounslow – has agreed a joint protocol with the police for processing applications for ASBOs to deal with different types of cases. Where perpetrators or complainants are private residents or occupiers, action is led by the police. In cases that involve non-housing council amenities, facilities or land, the council department that owns them takes the lead.

Case by case, the council's legal services provide reasonable advice and assistance to the police, but where the police are the lead agency they instruct their own solicitors. In the case of ASBOs for tenants of registered social landlords, the RSL investigates the case fully and provides evidence as directed by the council. The council's legal costs are then reimbursed by the RSL.