Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to follow the Anti-Social Behaviour Review process correctly. The decision to refuse Mr X’s request for an Anti-Social Behaviour Review was made by the Community Safety Partnership. This body is outside our jurisdiction. The failure to respond to his appeal for a review of this decision was made by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, also a body outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council failed to follow the anti-social behaviour (ASB) case review process correctly.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate complaints about actions which are not the administrative function of a council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(1) as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 introduced a way to review the handling of complaints of anti-social behaviour (ASB). This is the anti-social behaviour case review, previously known as the ‘Community Trigger’.
7. When a person asks for a review, relevant bodies (which may include the council, police and others) should decide whether it meets the local threshold. Relevant local bodies should agree their review threshold, but the ASB statutory guidance says this should be, at a maximum, that a complainant has made three reports of ASB within six months.
8. If the request meets the threshold, the relevant bodies should carry out the review. They should share information, consider the action already taken, decide whether more action is necessary, and then tell the complainant the outcome. If they decide to take more action, they should create an action plan.
9. We can only consider councils’ actions in an ASB case review. We cannot investigate or make findings about any contribution made by other relevant bodies, such as the police.
10. Mr X says the Council failed to correctly deal with his request for an ASB case review.
11. The Council, as part of a multi-organisational panel, considered the request. Members of the panel included representatives from the Police, the Council, the County Council and the Fire and Rescue Service. The panel decided his request did not meet the threshold for review. It advised Mr X of its decision and provided details of how he could appeal.
12. The appeal process is handled by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) which is part of the multi-agency partnership. Mr X says the OPCC failed to respond to his request for a review.
13. Mr X complains the Council failed to ensure his request for a review was processed correctly. However, the decision that his complaint did not meet the threshold for review was made by the Community Safety Partnership. This is not a body within our jurisdiction.
14. The OPCC does not appear to have responded to Mr X’s request for a review of the Community Partnership’s decision. A Police and Crime Commissioner is a body in jurisdiction. However, the only actions that can be looked at are those of the commissioner him or herself. The failure to respond to Mr X’s request for a review is not an action of the Police and Crime Commissioner. Therefore this complaint is not within our jurisdiction.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The decision that his request for an ASB review did not meet the relevant threshold was made by the Community Safety Partnership. This body is outside our jurisdiction. Nor can we investigate his complaint that the OPCC failed to respond to his request for a review as that body is also outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman