Case study 3

Annie was the sole tenant of a property. Annie was in a relationship with another person who resided at the address but was not on the tenancy. There were regular violent domestics between the pair, causing disturbance and distress to neighbours, resulting in 4-5 calls to police a week, sometimes daily. Both were alcohol dependant. Annie stated that her partner was verbally abusive and that she wanted them removed from the property. However, when police arrived, Annie refused to make any allegations. Annie's children were taken into care several years ago. A referral to a multi-agency risk assessment conference had also been made.

Domestic incidents and assaults continued with various male friends for 17 months, where Annie was both the alleged victim and perpetrator. Annie was arrested for assault on a police officer during this period (spitting in the officer's mouth).

Annie became intentionally homeless following action taken by the landlord. She was subject to a Criminal Behaviour Order which led to possession of the property and an order to stay away from the road or area where she had lived.

Six months later, a support agency engaged with Annie. However, other housing support agencies refused to work with her as she was intoxicated during the assessment. A number of housing providers did not offer alternative housing due to her behaviour. The support agencies did manage to get Annie into various hotels. Due to her behaviour, often influenced by alcohol, she was asked to leave. Annie slept rough on occasions and was found passed out on several occasions by ambulance services. She made suicide attempts. The mental health team assessed her but took no further action as no mental health problem was identified. Annie's family were also reluctant to get involved due to the previous issues that they held dealt with.

The council, police, Social Services, Community Safety Teams and all relevant support agencies were involved throughout the process.

Residents were happy that the removal of Annie had reduced the number of incidents.