This project was funded under the Welsh Assembly Government’s good practice in homelessness programme and was the result of a successful joint bid by the Welsh Local Government Association, Community Housing Cymru and the All Wales Chief Housing Officers Panel. These three organisations commissioned Caroline Humphreys and Tamsin Stirling to undertake the project which was carried out between September 2007 and June 2008.
The project emerged from concerns expressed by housing providers, (local authorities, housing associations and supported housing providers), about the difficulties they faced in housing offenders and ex-offenders appropriately, particularly those identified as high risk.
The overall scope of the project was to examine arrangements and practice for accommodating offenders 18 years old and upwards. It particularly focused on high risk offenders subject to Multi Agency Public Protection and Prolific and Priority arrangements. The project:
- looked at levels of housing demand from ex-offenders, their routes into housing and the supply of housing for this group
- reviewed current practice and provision across the UK, and
- identified ways in which the provision of appropriate accommodation for this group could be improved
The project involved a range of methods including a literature review, stakeholder interviews, a questionnaire survey distributed to housing, criminal justice and community safety organisations, two case studies and discussions with service users.
For more information contact: Sue Finch