Case study list

Cardiff Community Housing Association

01/01/2008

The Community Solutions team was formed in January 2004. Since its establishment, the service had resolved 233 cases and, at the time of the inspection, had 123 live cases. Before the introduction of the service, the Association was dealing with 356 live cases.

Through a focus group, tenants provided advice and assistance in the development of the service. The Association also engaged effectively with residents in relation to particular issues. For example, the Association worked with residents on a particular estate, with the support of the Community Safety Partnership and the police, to address severe anti-social behaviour problems. This resulted in funding of physical improvements using secure by design principles, and 'hotspots' on the estate being addressed, for example, by placing prickly shrubs against walls to prevent youths congregating, improving street lighting, and redesigning the square in the middle of the estate.

The Association had a clear position on how it would respond to anti-social behaviour. The Tenants' Handbook explained the Association's approach and an advisory leaflet set out what residents could do themselves and the response they could expect to receive from the Association.

The Association was taking a proactive approach to tackling problems and used a range of measures appropriate to individual cases. These have included the use of Acceptable Behaviour Contracts, demoted tenancies and Anti-Social Behaviour Injunctions.

The Association had also developed strategic partnerships operating across the city, designed to sustain the communities in which it operated.

Systems and documentation had been developed which ensured that a consistent approach was taken to tackling anti-social behaviour cases and that reference was made to relevant external agencies. Management information systems allowed review and evaluation of the impact of action taken. The Association was using its paper-based system as the basis for a new IT based system to produce standard letters, checklists and prompts and ensure effectively co-ordinated action. The Association was taking all instances of anti-social behaviour and harassment very seriously and had taken legal action to resolve incidents of nuisance and harassment, was about to introduce demoted tenancies and had evicted a tenant for racial harassment. The service took a client-centred approach with an emphasis on support for victims and keeping everyone fully informed.