Local focus hub case studies

Some examples of the work of our local focus hubs

Example 1

Situation - A resident, who was a known substance misuser, and whose children had been taken into care, subsequently lost their 3-bed property due to anti-social behaviour and drug activity. The resident relocated to a one-bedroom flat then had a Criminal Behaviour Order issued with conditions was imposed to prevent shoplifting in local businesses. A local focus hub referral was made in 2024 for ASB at the resident’s new address, and they had already committed 11 criminal offences that year.

Action - The multi-agency problem solving brought together the Housing Options Team, Recovery Steps, Probation, Police and Cumbria Gateway.

Regular multi-agency meetings were convened with the female to make the boundaries clear, clarify information is shared accurately to prevent manipulation of single agencies, and to help them understand the risk of non-compliance, i.e. losing their home and not being eligible to be housed by the homelessness team. Support was also offered around domestic abuse and risk-taking behaviours.

Outcome - No further calls to the police, housing enforcement action paused due to good behaviour, with the resident successfully completing Recovery Steps programme, therefore satisfying probation requirements.

The resident learnt to build relationships and resilience through Cumbria Gateway and is now feeling hopeful to restart access with their children.

Example 2

Situation – A housing association property received complaints regarding anti-social behaviour, disorder and noise nuisance, causing unrest in the local community.

Action – A hub referral was submitted by Environmental Health. Proactive partnership Intelligence gathering and information sharing took place regarding the address which identified drug dealing connected to another property. A police warrant was obtained, leading to a house search where a person was arrested after drugs were found. They were later imprisoned for possession of drugs with intent to supply. The housing association used the circumstances of the offence to seek mandatory possession of the property,

Outcome – In addition the housing association was able to obtain an injunction to prevent problematic persons visiting the locality. By working in partnership it has resulted in the community receiving a sustainable solution to the drug dealing and subsequent poor behaviour at the address.

Example 3

Situation - Police submitted a referral into the Local Focus hub following multiple crimes and ASB behaviour committed by a resident towards neighbours. This had a detrimental impact on the local community and at times prevented neighbours leaving their homes due to fears of further incidents. The resident was living in a semi supported accommodation managed by a social landlord. They were alcohol dependent, and concerns were raised that the resident had undiagnosed mental health problems.

Action – The Local Focus Hub brought together Police, Recovery Steps, The Well, Homelessness Team, Social Services and Environmental Health.

All neighbourhood police officers were briefed on the issues to ensure all safeguarding incidents were recorded.

Numerous offers of intervention and support were given to the resident from mental health providers, Homelessness Team, Recovery Steps and Social Services. However the resident refused to engage, and their criminal behaviour continued, leading to a court appearance for numerous harassment offences. A criminal behaviour order was successfully applied for, and due to the residents’ continuing actions, the tenancy became untenable, and a decision was made to apply for a closure notice of the property.

Outcome - A vast amount of information is required to support a closure order application and due to the problem-solving model used by the local focus hubs they were able to assist the neighbourhood policing team in their application, which proved successful.

The community where the resident was residing were given immediate relief and able to return to a normal safe community.