Hampshire is to be the first English county to get its own specialist antisocial behaviour team for registered social landlords.

The team will be set up by the 20 largest RSLs in the county and has government backing.

The Home Office and Government Office for the South-east will give the project a total of £80,000 over the coming two years.

Hyde Housing Association, one of the few RSLs in the county that already has an in-house antisocial behaviour unit, is leading efforts to establish the Hampshire scheme.

The team’s services will include:

  • specialist evidence gathering
  • witness support
  • an out-of-hours service
  • a single voice at crime and disorder partnership meetings
  • negotiating data exchange agreements with police and councils.

Peter Hall, regional housing manager at Hyde, said rising demand for antisocial behaviour services from tenants made a “more holistic approach” necessary.

“Currently, there are only a couple of dedicated officers dealing with antisocial behaviour in the entire county and most of that coverage doesn’t extend outside Southampton and Portsmouth,” he said.

The team will be based in Southampton and could be up and running by early 2005.

If the project proves successful, the Home Office plans to use it as a model to help other counties set up their own antisocial behaviour teams.

Source

Housing Today