Housing Associations review policies after shooting during eviction

The 59-year-old woman and a 59-year-old bailiff from Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service were injured as they attended an eviction in Brixton, south London, on 3 July.

The housing officer is ‘recovering well’ at home from a gunshot wound to her knee and the 38,600-home association is talking to her about a possible return to work. A spokesperson for HMCTS said the bailiff is ‘out of hospital and doing well’.

Jenny Danson, executive director for housing at Metropolitan, said: ‘Initial findings [of an internal investigation] indicate this is an incident that couldn’t have been foreseen.’

Since the shooting, Metropolitan has organised additional personal safety training sessions to ensure front line staff who had not yet attended sessions could do so.

Hyde Group has issued ‘reinforced guidelines’ to its regional directors, managers and front line staff to strengthen its existing policies and procedures, use of personal alarm systems and staff training. A spokesperson for 49,000-home association said the incident underlined the importance of ‘robust processes that can help mitigate the risk to officers’.

Similarly, 24,000-home Family Mosaic has launched a review of its lone working policy and is looking at its risk assessments and training.

Gavin Smart, director of policy and practice at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said it was crucial the precise circumstances of the incident were understood before seeking to establish whether it had any wider implications.

Andrew Stephenson, 50, of Strathleven Road, London, appeared at Camberwell Magistrates’ Court on 5 July charged with three counts of attempted murder, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life, possession of a prohibited firearm, and possession of ammunition for a section 1 firearm without a certificate. He remains in custody and is due to appear at the Old Bailey on 11 October.