A NEW scheme to rehouse victims of crimes by involving social landlords is about to be launched nationally, Housing Today (August 1) reports.
Every year the police rehouse 3,500 crime witness households — a process that can be slow and frustrating — and victims may suffer further intimidation while they wait.
The new protocol was developed by Caroline Jones, who rehoused crime victims while working for the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Social landlords sign up to provide accommodation reciprocally, which means that witnesses can be moved to a place of safety within days.
Costs are met by the referring landlord, but are minimal compared with the drain on community resources from crime, wasted legal fees and abandoned court cases.
The scheme, developed with funding from the Housing Corporation and the police, has already been piloted in a handful of authorities, but the Home Office now plans to extend it nationwide.