A Case for Partnership: the Local Authority Landlord and the Local Police

The partnership approach to crime reduction and antisocial behavior is now well-established in the academic literature and the operational reality of many agencies. A more recent, and still developing aspect of such initiatives in the U.K., is the use of civil statutes alongside criminal law to tackle criminal and nuisance behavior. This paper features two case studies that describe the use of two civil instruments, injunctions and evictions, and the joint police-housing department operations that utilized them. The creation of a housing Tenancy Enforcement Team in Gateshead, Newcastle, represented an innovative approach to the enforcement of housing department tenancy agreements. An initiative by the local police and Hackney Housing department in London involved a criminal investigation and the test use of local council legal powers. The development, process and impact of both initiatives are discussed. The cases suggest that the partnership approach can strengthen both criminal and civil actions through the exchange of information and mutual enforcement support. This paper will discuss initiatives undertaken by what are known in the U.K. as local authority housing departments. Local authority is a term for the city or area council (e.g., Newcastle City Council), led by elected officials, that provides local (non-federal) governments with essential services such as education and housing. Such a body spends its budget and — as a legal entity — is able to instigate legal proceedings as its elected leaders and professional staff deem fit. Funding for such services, including the housing department that Crime Prevention Studies, volume 9 (1998), pp. 329-346 330 — Sheridan Morris builds and manages the housing stock, is provided by a local property tax. The housing officers discussed in the two case studies in this chapter are employees of the local authority and are therefore public sector workers, though not central government civil servants. Unlike cities such as New York, those in the U.K. do not have dedicated housing police. The police units discussed comprise locally based officers who belong to the police force that covers the local region, county or city (e.g. the Metropolitan Police in Hackney, London and the Northumbria Police in Gateshead, Newcastle).