Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about a Community Protection Notice served on the complainant by the Council. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains that the Council issued him with a Community Protection Notice (CPN). He says the CPN is based on other people’s opinions and that the Council is suggesting he is a child abuser. Mr X has suffered abuse on social media due to the CPN. Mr X wants the Council to withdraw the CPN, apologise, and give him compensation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and the Council’s response. I considered the CPN. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Community Protection Notice

4. CPNs are intended to deal with unreasonable behaviour or nuisance which negatively impact on the community. The Council must demonstrate that the behaviour is persistent, unreasonable and affecting the quality of life of residents. The Council must first issue a warning.

What happened

5. The Council, in conjunction with the police, issued Mr X with a CPN warning. The CPN said that Mr X had been filming adults and children, without consent, and this was causing distress to people attending community events. The CPN said Mr X must not film or photograph people without consent and he must not post images on social media. He must comply with the Council’s rules on recordings and leave a property if asked to do so. He must also comply with any existing bans. The CPN said legal action could be taken if Mr X did not comply.
6. The CPN gave specific examples of the activities which had caused distress. This included Mr X taking video recordings of a councillor’s house, taking photographs over a wall of children attending events, and objecting to an instruction, given at a council meeting, that he could not film people who had declined to give permission. The CPN also states Mr X has been abusive when people have asked him not to film, that an incident was reported to police, and that he has been banned from a property used by the Council for events. Mr X complained to the Council after most of the incidents.
7. Mr X denies wrong-doing and says that, as a result of the CPN, he has been abused on social media and treated like a child abuser.

Assessment

8. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. A council can serve a CPN if it has evidence that someone’s behaviour is persistent, unreasonable, and causing distress to other people. In the CPN the Council described events, over a period of a year, which showed actions by Mr X causing distress to people at community events. Specifically, parents were distressed by Mr X taking photos of their children. And, the CPN also states that Mr X sometimes got into altercations with people and was abusive; both issues are likely to cause distress. The CPN explained what Mr X needed to stop doing, the reasons, and what would happen if he did not comply.
9. Mr X says he has been abused on social media since the Council issued the CPN. However, the Council only served the CPN on Mr X. The Council did not place the CPN on a social media platform. The Council is not responsible for any mention of the CPN on social media.

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Final decision

10. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman