‘It’s all considered to be unacceptable behaviour’

AuthorVickie Cooper
Date01 December 2016
Published date01 December 2016
DOI10.1177/0264550516664145
Subject MatterArticles
Article
‘It’s all considered to
be unacceptable
behaviour’: Criminal
justice practitioners’
experience of
statutory housing duty
for (ex)offenders
Vickie Cooper
The Open University, UK
Abstract
Despite a growing recognition of the intersectional relationship between homelessness
and incarceration, we have a limited knowledge about housing policy and practice for
people leaving custody and (ex)offender groups in the community. Addressing these
gaps, this paper provides an overview of the main local housing authority statutory
duties in the provision of housing support for prison leavers and (ex)offenders in
England and Wales, and situates the issues with accessing accommodation within the
wider context of austerity. The paper presents a case study that explores criminal
justice practitioners’ experiences of working with local authority housing agencies.
Stemming from 25 interviews with housing practitioners and criminal justice practi-
tioners, the paper outlines the main challenges facing criminal justice agencies as they
try to secure accommodation for homeless (ex)offenders and resettle them in the
community. Finally, the paper concludes by raising critical questions about the
housing options for this population, now and in the future.
Keywords
criminal justice system, (ex)offenders, homelessness, local housing authority, statutory
duty
Corresponding Author:
Vickie Cooper, The Open University – Social Policy and Criminology, Walt on Hall, Milton Keynes MK7
6AA, UK.
Email: victoria.cooper1@open.ac.uk
Probation Journal
2016, Vol. 63(4) 433–451
ªThe Author(s) 2016
Reprints and permissions:
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DOI: 10.1177/0264550516664145
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The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice
Introduction
The plight of homelessness within the criminal justice system presents several issues
for thinking about housing options and housing access for prison leavers and
(ex)offenders in the community. Homeless people are disproportionately incar-
cerated in comparison with the general population, and people leaving prison are
more likely to be placed in insufficient and temporary accommodation, homeless
hostels and/or sleep rough (Carlisle, 1996; Social Exclusion Unit, 2002; Cooper,
2013). While criminal justice policy and housing policy have variously responded
to the intersectional relationship between homelessness and incarceration, this
relationship has persisted at a steady rate in the last three decades (McCarthy and
Hagan, 1991; Carlen, 1996; Social Exclusion Unit, 2002; HM Inspectorate of
Prisons, 2014). Most recent estimates show that approximately 40%of all rough
sleepers have recently left prison and between 15%and 30%of the prison popu-
lation experience homelessness prior to entry (Social Exclusion Unit, 2002; Centre
for Social Justice, 2010; HM Inspectorate of Prisons, 2014). Moreover, the number
of children and young people who are homeless has occurred in tandem with the
resort to sending children to custody, where a ‘lack of suitable accommodation’ is
said to ‘lead to the over-use of secure accommodation’ (HC, 2004: 46; Barnardo’s,
2011).
Despite a growing recognition of the intersectional relationship between
homelessness and incarceration, we have a limited knowledge of housing policy
and practice for prison leavers and (ex)offender groups in the community. Local
housing authorities (LHAs) have a ‘statutory duty to assist homeless and vulnerable
ex-offenders’ in some circumstances and provide them with adequate housing
support (CLG, 2009: 1). However, the implementation and interpretation of these
statutory powers and how they come to impact upon this population is far less
documented in criminological and criminal justice studies than are the risk factors
and/or criminogenic needs of homeless populations (McCarthy et al., 1998;
Martijn and Sharpe, 2006; Mallett et al., 2001). With the exception of a few
studies (Cowan and Fionda, 1994; Cowan et al., 1999; Harding and Harding,
2006), the role of LHAs is often considered tangentially when analysing the
revolving door between homelessness and incarceration. Criminological and
criminal justice studies tend to focus upon resettlement and accommodation
‘needs’ of prisoners, isolating criminal justice resettlement practices from wider
LHA statutory duties. This lack of attention surrounding the statutory obligation is
surprising given that resettlement and tenancy service providers operating within
the criminal justice sector are typically commissioned by LHAs, enabling them to
satisfy their statutory obligation – to prevent homelessness in their district area
(CLG, 2006).
This article will first outline desistance studies and policy discourses that situate
housing as the main stream of support that can remedy offending-related issues, but
will show how this relationship is countered by the political drive to increase tenant
insecurity and criminalize tenants through the enforcement of crime control strategy.
Second, it will examine the main statutory housing duties owed to prison leavers and
434 Probation Journal 63(4)

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