London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

In November 2007 Hanover Associates were tasked by the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (LBHF) to set up a Professional Witness Officer (PWO) position within the authority.

The Professional Witness Officer was targeted with achieving the following objectives:

observe locations, gather evidence/intelligence and effectively record incidents of Racial Harassment (RH) and Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB).
assist in the identification of perpetrators.
provide witness statements to progress enforcement activity and attend court as necessary.
provide support for complainants out of hours if necessary.
co-ordinate the deployment of covert surveillance equipment.
provide evidence for Crack House Closures.

Hanover provided a consultant to LBHF between November 2007 and April 2009. The brief was to structure the role and to pilot the scheme as the operative. This included compiling the necessary forms to support the role, overseeing the purchase of items such as covert cameras and building relationships with partner agencies. During this period the PWO dealt with 36 referrals (of which 15 became on-going cases), achieved 19 positive results and 6 cases where the complaints were proven to be malicious.

The PWO was directly responsible for providing evidence that resulted in the closure of 8 Crack Houses during this period. As a result of the intelligence gathered by the PWO the following outcomes were achieved by the Anti-Social Behaviour co-ordinators and the area offices.

Three applications for possession were successfully obtained
One eviction was obtained
One Notice of Seeking Possession was obtained
One case of music equipment was seized
One Notice to Quit was served

The trial proved very successful and LBHF has made the PWO post a permanent one.

Hanover Associates provided a job description and advised on the recruitment of a suitable candidate. Hanover continued to fill the role until a permanent PWO was found and have retained a commitment to support the function should the situation arise.