'Mini crime wave' fears over shortage of homes

Home Secretary Jack Straw has met with probation officers who claim Britain could witness a "mini crime wave" due to the shortage of housing for ex-offenders.

It is feared up to 800 prisoners a week could leave jail only to return to a life of crime because all the emergency accommodation in the midlands and the south east has been filled up.

At the same time the government is trying to stem the tide of homeless families and the recent boom in refugees and asylum seekers increasing the pressure on resources.

Housing experts also blame the reduction in social housing stock caused by urban renewal, as well as the property boom in London and the South East forcing up rents in the private sector, for adding to the crisis.

Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, said without a stable address an ex-offender cannot claim benefits, and without benefits they could return to crime.

More than half of the 80,000 convicts discharged every year return to prison again within two years, according to Home Office figures.

"The government needs to make urgent provisions or they will be looking at a mini crime wave over the summer," Fletcher told Housing Today.

"They need to see if there is anything they can do to provide extra accommodation in the short term."

The crisis is also adversely affecting the government's flagship anti-crime initiatives, such as home detention curfews and the national tagging scheme, according to NAPO.

Local Government Association asylum seekers unit project leader Mike Boyle insisted refugees and asylum seekers should not become the scapegoats for a nationwide shortage of temporary housing.

"Hostel accommodation and other short-term accommodation needs to be accessed on the basis of relative need," he said. "Are the needs of asylum seekers and refugees greater than or less than any others with a requirement for temporary accommodation?"

Boyle conceded that there was anecdotal evidence that asylum seekers on benefits were able to find alternative accommodation. But he added: "The solution isn't to throw people living in hostels out on the streets. The solution is to generate more affordable accommodation in our communities."