Murdered girl’s mother says more should be done to evict anti-social tenants
Landlords’ body blasts ‘potentially damaging’ Payne justice report
A social landlords’ organisation has hit out at allegations made by the mother of a murdered schoolgirl claiming that the sector does not do enough to evict anti-social tenants.
The Social Landlords’ Crime and Nuisance Group has written a protest letter to Sara Payne about a report she compiled for the government.
Ms Payne was appointed as the government’s victims’ champion in January after campaigning for parents to be told about convicted sex offenders living near them, following the murder of her eight-year-old daughter Sarah by a paedophile in 2000.
Her report, Redefining justice, published on 5 November, states that social landlords rarely take action against anti-social tenants.
Ms Payne’s report urges social landlords to use all legal avenues, including both criminal and civil proceedings, to tackle anti-social behaviour.
he recommends that councils and social services prioritise the rehousing or adaptation of victims’ homes if they have physical injuries, and that local criminal justice boards should coordinate services, including housing.
In a letter to Ms Payne, Peter Jackson, director of the SLCNG, said it was ‘inaccurate and potentially very damaging’ to say that social landlords rarely took action against anti-social tenants. He said the statement also contradicted the evidence of ‘the Home Office, Communities and Local Government the Tenants Services Authority and the Audit Commission as well as our own experience and that of our member organisations’. He agreed that victims involved in civil and criminal cases should get equal support and said he would like to meet her to collaborate on this.
Ms Payne’s report adds that serious abuse should not be left to landlords but handled by the police.
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Readers' comments (6)
kass | 04/12/2009 9:25 am
The overwhelming feeling amongst social tenants is that social landlords and police are not being effective. This report does nothing more than highlight just that. This report is only defective in the sense that it does not stress enough that by not being effective social landlords and police are 'de facto' encouraging antisocial behaviour and crime and victimising even more the victims.
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DavidJ | 04/12/2009 1:00 pm
Kass - more drivel - I doubt any landlord would encourage ASB. One of the many issues (and those working in the sector will be aware) is the sheer weight of evidence needed before any action will be consider by the authorities, and even then the case may not always be successful. Add to that the enfocement of ASBOs, and the court issuing minimal finres/action and there you have it. No doubt you blame the housing staff........
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kass | 04/12/2009 1:53 pm
DavidJ | Fri, 4 Dec 2009 13:00 GMT
I blame social landlords and police and local authorities and not the indiviuals working as staff receptionists of these bodies.
You justify these bodies' inefectiveness and therefore the encouragement of perpretators by the difficulties to do so. To start with it is just nonsense as any organisation in the land can come up with such an excuse of complexity to justify their failure.
Secondly, most asbos cases can be easily prevented solved or dealt with if these bodies would show some resourcefulness in using the powers they have.
Thirdly, the it is not the victims that have made the issues allegedly diffiuclt to resolve, and you are simpling damning the mto a fate worse than death by going around telling these victims how difficult is to rescue them and therefore they have to suffer even more because knowing all these difficulties they will inflict even more misery on their victims.
Oh, and of course i very much blame you for supporting this state of things, and if you are housing staff you are obviously the worse of the lot.
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Jim Paton | 05/12/2009 9:57 pm
Much of what social landlords do about alleged anti-social behaviour amounts to bullying the vulnerable and harassing the amiably eccentric who are no threat to anyone. Go for the easy meat and you get lots of boxes ticked!
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Peter | 06/12/2009 1:59 pm
What needs to be considered here is whether there is any merit of Sara Payne's dossier compiled for the government? Is this a political stunt and why have they used Ms Payne?
Could Ms Payne, whose personal tragedy and loss of her child, have researched this report objectively and without bias especially under those terrible circumstances? The damning suggestions that social landlords don't do enough to curb anti social behaviour, is in my view, somewhat misleading nor objective.
I have worked for three inner city Boroughs in London since the mid nineties and we have always actively pursued ASB. I have lost counts the amount ASB orders we obtained and in several cases perpetrators have ended up in prison and losing their tenancy.
This whole operation requires time, resource and patience, the gathering of creditable evidence and then presenting to a court after our legal team are satisfied that we have a chance to succeed. We often worked in conjunction with the police. Sometime they will prosecute and we provide the evidence. Either way, the judge needs to be satisfied that the evidence presented is not discriminatory or malicious.
For those of you who think dealing with ASB is a straight forward issue, please think again, especially when it comes social landlord's responsibilities because everybody is innocent until proven guilty. The operative word here is 'proven'!
ASB is a bigger issue than social housing and managing it, is all our responsibility.
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DavidJ | 08/12/2009 5:01 pm
Kass - your ignorance and blinkered view always shines through. Bless you.
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