The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that Council enforcement officers harassed Mr X following an alleged littering offence. This is because we cannot add to what the Council has said or achieve the outcome Mr X seeks.
The complaint
Mr X complains he was caused distress when he was followed and harassed by Council enforcement officers who believed he had committed a littering offence. Mr X feels one of the officers is not fit to carry out the role and poses a risk to LGBT members of the public.
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 organisation, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or there is another body better placed to consider this complaint (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has acknowledged the response by its enforcement officers was not in accordance with its procedures and was disproportionate. It has apologised to Mr X for the impact this has had on him. The Council has explained measures it is taking to ensure this does not happen again, including further staff training and has also asked Mr X for his views on what he feels will help this process.
The Council addressed Mr X’s concerns that he was targeted because of his appearance as a ‘queer-presenting person’. It has tried to reassure Mr X that this was not the case and has stressed the importance for its officers to treat all members of the public fairly.
I understand Mr X remains upset at what took place, but we will not investigate as we cannot add to what the Council has said. We can have no role in internal discipline matters and can have no influence over whether the officer in question remains in post. If Mr X continues to feel he was targeted due to his sexual orientation, then this would possibly be best dealt with by the police.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we cannot add to what the Council has said or achieve the outcome Mr X seeks.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman