Summary
Mrs X complains about the Council failure to act against a council officer subjecting her family to anti-social behaviour. She would like the officer sacked. We will not investigate because we are unlikely to add anything to the Council’s investigation or achieve the outcome requested.
The complaint
Mrs X complains about anti-social behaviour from a council officer visiting a neighbour. She would like the officer complained about to be sacked.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide: we could not add to any previous investigation by the organization; we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has investigated and said there is no evidence to justify taking disciplinary action.
The Council also said it would pass on the information to its dedicated Anti Social Behaviour Unit for its specialist consideration. However, it writes that Mrs X said she did not want this course of action.
On this basis Mrs X has had her concerns suitably considered and further investigation by us would not achieve anything more. We also would not be able to achieve the outcome requested which is dismissal of the officer complained of.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we are unlikely to add anything more or achieve the outcome requested.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman