THE POLITICS OF PARTNERSHIPS: A STUDY OF POLICE AND HOUSING COLLABORATION TO TACKLE ANTI‐SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR ON AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC HOUSING ESTATES
| Author | KEITH JACOBS |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2010.01851.x |
| Published date | 01 December 2010 |
| Date | 01 December 2010 |
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9299.2010.01851.x
THE POLITICS OF PARTNERSHIPS: A STUDY OF POLICE
AND HOUSING COLLABORATION TO TACKLE
ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR ON AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC
HOUSING ESTATES
KEITH JACOBS
This paper draws on the findings from a research project on partnership arrangements between
the police and housing departments on three Australian public housing estates to tackle problems
associated with illicit drug activity and anti-social beha viour (ASB). The analysis focused on
the setting up of the partnerships and the interactions that followed from these institutional
arrangements. The assumption that informs the paper is that when studying partnerships there
is a need for a more critically framed analysis. The temptation to posit ‘a successful model’ of
what partnership entails and then to judge practices in relation to this model is considerable, but it
inevitably falls into the trap of constructing a narrative of partnership success or failure in terms of
individual agency (that is, the degree of commitment from individuals). The analysis undertaken
in this paper has therefore sought to fathom a more complex set of organizational processes. Rather
than confine the discussion to issues of success and failure, the study foregrounds the subjective
accounts of individuals who work within partnership and the constraints they encounter. The
paper therefore makes explicit the cultural tensions within and across agencies, contestation as to
the extent of the policy ‘problem’, and the divergent perspectives on the appropriate modes of
intervention.
INTRODUCTION
Within the public sector, partnerships between different agencies are widely promoted as
a means to enhance service delivery and achieve a ‘holistic’ approach to tackle complex
problems such as crime, educational under-achievement, and long-term unemployment.
The support for partnership within the higher echelons of government has meant that there
is a paucity of research that explores, from a critical perspective, the problematic aspects
of partnership, and the organizational processes that surround this mode of intervention.
This paper aims to address this lacuna by reporting on a research project that collated
the views of housing and police staff working within three Australian police/housing
authority partnerships to tackle anti-social behaviour and drug-related activity. To provide
context, the paper begins by reviewing some of the conceptual literature on partnership
practices noting the limitations and strengths of different approaches. There then follows
a discussion of the empirical research, including how the partnerships were established
and the substantive findings from the project. The conclusion brings together the policy
implications that arise from the project and proposes a more critical line of enquiry for
exploring contemporary public service partnerships.
UNDERSTANDING PARTNERSHIPS: ISSUES OF THEORY AND METHOD
There is divergence on the best ways to research public sector partnerships. A large
strand of the research literature is informed by normative assumptions about the efficacy
of partnership and its desirability as a model for governance. It assumes, first, that
KeithJacobsisintheDepartmentofSociology, University of Tasmania.
Public Administration Vol. 88, No. 4, 2010 (928–942)
©2010 The Author. Public Administration ©2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ,
UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.
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