The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the complainant was escorted from the Council’s offices without good reason. This is because we could not add to the investigation already carried out by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains that he was escorted from the Council offices by security staff for no reason.
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. (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 carried out an investigation into Mr X’s complaint. It reviewed CCTV footage which showed Mr X being escorted from the office by security guards. It reviewed a statement from the security guard which said that Mr X was escorted from the office due to Mr X being aggressive and demanding. Mr X denies the security guards claims.
I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because we could not add to the investigation carried out by the Council. The Council considered relevant information when investigating Mr X’s complaint. The recollections of the security guard differ significantly to Mr X’s. I could not reconcile the conflicting views as I was not privy to the events and conversations.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we could not add to the Council’s investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman