Social Housing as Crime Control: An Examination of the Role of Housing Management in Policing Sex Offenders

This article considers the ways in which social housing has in recent years become inextricably linked with the process of crime control. Drawing on case study research into the rehousing of sex offenders, the authors provide evidence illustrating why and how social housing management has become increasingly drawn into the fold of crime control. The article then highlights some serious but often neglected concerns stemming from the adoption by social housing management of more crime control responsibilities. Whilst protection of individuals and communities should always remain paramount, the article concludes with a discussion about the implications of what these processes may mean for social housing.