The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the complainant was mistreated and racially abused when she visited the Council. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, says she was racially abused when she visited the Council. She also says an officer tried to attack her and had to be restrained by other officers.
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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) We cannot share documents that are confidential to other people.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence, witness statements and a video provided by Ms X. I also considered our Assessment Code and comments Ms X made in reply to a draft of this decision.
My assessment
Ms X visited the Council a few times for help in dealing with some Penalty Charge Notices (PCN). Ms X complained to the Council that officer A provided a poor service and was racist. Ms X alleges the officer tried to attack her. Ms X says the Council provided a better service to a man who was not “dark skinned”. Ms X denies she was aggressive or abusive.
The Council interviewed staff and read witness statements and an incident report. The Council explained that officers spent a lot of time trying to help Ms X with the PCNs. The Council said the records showed that Ms X became verbally abusive and aggressive. Other officers had to intervene due to Ms X’s conduct. The Council viewed CCTV which, while it had no sound, showed that Ms X’s conduct was unacceptable. The Council said an officer tried to help someone else during the incident. It explained that any difference in treatment was not due to race but due to Ms X’s conduct. The Council found no evidence that officers had been racist towards Ms X.
I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council responded appropriately by speaking to officers and considering the incident report and witness statement. The Council invited Ms X to send a video but Ms X said she could not. I have not seen any suggestion of fault in the way the Council responded to the allegation.
I have considered the witness statements and, while I cannot share the information with Ms X due to data protection, I can confirm there is no evidence of racial abuse towards Ms X and nothing to suggest anyone tried to attack her. I have watched a short video provided by Ms X. The video does not cover the whole incident. On the video I can hear Ms X being verbally abusive and shouting. The video does not show officer A attack Ms X. At one point another officer says “no” and places a hand on officer A; but I do not agree officer A was being restrained and there is no video evidence of anyone being attacked. The video does not include any comments about race. If Ms X remains of the view that someone tried to attack her then that may be an issue she wants to raise with the police.
Final decision
We will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman