Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s role in a Police arrest. We cannot investigate the Police’s actions and the Information Commissioner’s Office are better placed to consider his complaint about the passing of information.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, says the Council passed on information to the Police which caused him to be arrested.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about action taken by or on behalf of any local policing body in connection with the investigation or prevention of crime. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, Section 26, paragraph 2 as amended)
3. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
4. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council’s response to him.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X says the Police have accepted they should not have arrested him for an offence in October 2019. Mr X says they did so based on information in an email from Miss Y. Mr X says the Council passed Miss Y’s email to the Police. He says this means the Council is also at fault for the arrest and should apologise.
8. The Council says it was not its decision to arrest Mr X. It says the officer who passed the email on made it clear “they had not witnessed the behaviour referred to and from whom the message emanated”.
9. We cannot investigate the Police’s decision to arrest Mr X. This means we cannot investigate the influence the Council’s role in the events had.
10. Passing on inaccurate information can be a data protection breach. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights. It promotes openness by public bodies and protects the privacy of individuals. It deals with complaints about public authorities’ failures to comply with data protection legislation. This includes disclosing inaccurate information.
11. There is no charge for making a complaint to the ICO, and its complaints procedure is relatively easy to use. Where someone has a complaint about data protection, the Ombudsman usually expects them to bring the matter to the attention of the ICO. This is because the ICO is in a better position than the Ombudsman to consider such complaints. I consider that to be the case here and Mr X should therefore approach the ICO about his concerns.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman