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Crime, Violence and Anti-Social Behaviour
This page covers the issues of crime, violence and anti-Social behaviour as they affect homeless people. Homeless people should not be stereotyped as perpetrators: they may also be victims of crime, violence and anti-social behaviour.
Anti Social Behaviour Orders have been used by local authorities to ban individuals from entering certain areas or carrying out specific acts for a minimum period of two years. This includes people begging and engaging in other street-based activity including drug dealing.
What's New?
- Findings from Our Survey of Needs and Provision related to Criminal Justice , including the reported proportions of clients in homelessness services who are prison leavers.
- Impact of enforcement on street users in England - July 2007 Joseph Rowntree Foundation report and Homeless Link summary briefing . The Summer 2007 FEANTSA magazine gives an international perspective.
- The Home Office Connected Fund is designed to support small, locally managed community groups and organisations tackling gun and knife crime and gang issues in their local areas. This can be through kick-starting new initiatives or boosting ongoing projects, or through help with capacity building.
- The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) has published Anti-social Behaviour Intensive Family Support Projects: An evaluation of six pioneering projects. This looked at specialist ASB rehabilitation projects working with families who are at risk of eviction or who have been evicted from their homes due to anti-social behaviour and found that intensive family support can turn around anti-social behaviour in eight out of 10 cases.
The Issues
Violence
Violence, including domestic violence, is often a cause of homelessness. People who are made homeless as a result of violence of threats of violence are likely to be considered vulnerable under homelessness legislation and therefore to have a priority need for rehousing.
Crisis has published a research report, Living in Fear: Violence and Victimisation in the Lives of Single Homeless People. This shows that single homeless people - and rough sleepers in particular - suffer exceptionally high levels of violence, crime and victimisation.
Anti-Social Behaviour
The CLG has published the Respect standard for housing management.
The Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003 is the main legislation dealing with this issue.
Anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs), were introduced in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and came into force in 1999. Asbos ban people from specific activities or from entering particular areas. They last a minimum of two years, but can be imposed for longer.
The Police Reform Act 2002 and the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003 also contained measures on ASBOs.
The Home Office has produced guidelines on issuing ASBOs
Statewatch monitors the use of ASBOs.