The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that two waste enforcement officers falsely accused him of racial abuse in 2023. The complaint lies outside our jurisdiction because it is late and there are no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider it now.
The complaint
Mr X complains two of the Council’s waste enforcement officers called the police and falsely accused him of racial abuse whilst they were trying to issue him with two Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) in October 2023.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X waited 9 months after the incident before complaining to the Council about it. The Council explained that it no longer held any footage of the incident. The officers’ body worn camera footage was deleted after Mr X paid the FPNs in November 2023, in line with its data retention policy, as it no longer needed to retain it. The officers were questioned but given the passage of time, they did not recall their interaction with Mr X.
We will not investigate this complaint. It lies outside our jurisdiction because it is late. The law says complaints should be made to us within 12 months of the person affected first becoming aware of the matter. There are no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider this very late complaint now, which was made to us over 2 years after the alleged incident took place.
Even if the complaint had been made in time, the outcomes Mr X seeks in making this complaint are not achievable via an investigation by this office. Mr X seeks a refund of the FPNs and for the officers to be sacked. We cannot refund the FPNs. The route to challenge any matters relating to the issuing of the FPNs and liability to pay them was to raise a defence against their issue in the magistrates court at the time. Mr X could have used his right to challenge the FPNs instead of paying them. In paying them this closed the matter. We also cannot recommend any disciplinary action or sacking of Council officers as an outcome to any complaint we investigate as this lies outside our remit.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider it now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman