Our ref: 50239746-2024

Date: 29 January 2025

Mr Martin Newbold
15 Valleyside Road England
Ore Village
TN35 5AD

Dear Mr Newbold
Re Complaint about police regarding alleged police refusal to lodge a missing person’s request for your child

I refer you to previous correspondence dated 23rd September 2024 in relation to the above. I write to inform you that I have now concluded the investigation into this matter.

Role of the Police Ombudsman

The Police Ombudsman is independent of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). The role of the Police Ombudsman is to investigate complaints about police officers alleging criminality and/or a breach of the PSNI Code of Ethics amounting to misconduct (i.e. breaches giving rise to disciplinary action or proceedings).

When an investigation is complete, the Police Ombudsman will first consider whether a criminal offence may have been committed. If so, a file of evidence is submitted to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) and it is then for the PPS to decide whether a police officer should be prosecuted.

Irrespective of the PPS decision, the Police Ombudsman is also required to assess whether a police officer has breached their PSNI Code of Ethics or has otherwise performed below the standards expected. If there is sufficient evidence of a breach, a file of evidence will be submitted to the PSNI Professional Standards Department who will then determine if disciplinary proceedings are required and if so, whether a misconduct sanction is appropriate.

Your complaint

You reported a concerning situation regarding your daughter who has been unaccounted for, and police refused to investigate the matter. You submitted a missing persons request online under reference CC2040900 1582/2009/04. This request was only open for two days before it was closed, despite providing relevant references. On September 22, 2024, you called to request a call-back from a police but your request for a Duty Sergeant was declined. Additionally, you encountered obstacles in obtaining information about the supervising officer handling your case.

You further alleged that the Northern Ireland Children’s Commissioner failed to locate or meet with your daughter, despite your sending eighteen emails, suggesting a deliberate disregard for her situation. This lack of transparency and communication exacerbated your concerns regarding accountability in your daughter’s case.

Our investigation

The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland obtained all relevant police documentation in respect of this incident, which was subsequently examined and reviewed. Also, this Office contacted Social Services to seek information regarding your complaint.

Police records show that you reported your concerns regarding the location of your child. You alleged that your daughter is missing and stated she was “abducted” by Social Services and unlawfully brought to Northern Ireland. You stated that you are unable to get confirmation from any government body that she is alive or where she is. Police records confirmed that you wrote emails to the Children Commissioner’s Office in relation to your concerns about your child. You called a regional Social Worker concerning the issue and was informed to file a missing person request. Also, you called police sometime in September 2024 to report your daughter missing as her long term foster care had passed away

The investigation has been supervised in accordance with the Police Ombudsman’s Quality Assurance Strategy.

Investigation Findings

A review of police records indicate that police imparted appropriate advice to you regarding your complaint. As you were unhappy with the advice you wanted to speak with the supervisor and indicated that you wished to report your daughter missing. Police advised that you were not in a position to do so and to direct your enquiries to Social Services.

It was recorded you contacted Social Services stating you would like to know the location of your daughter. Social Services reviewed this request and advised they would not be in a position to provide you with information or assist with your request due to confidentiality. The Police Ombudsman’s Office has no power to disclose any specific information in relation to Social Services records. We have however reviewed the information available to the PSNI from you, Social Services and police records. Considering this information, this Office determined that police conducted adequate enquiries into your report.

Conclusion

Following investigation and objective assessment of the available evidence, there is insufficient evidence to support the allegations that you made.

This case has now been closed. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention to allow for an independent investigation into the circumstances of your complaint.

Appeals and Reviews

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of an investigation, you can apply to the court for a judicial review of our decision within three months of the date of this letter. You may wish to seek independent legal advice on the judicial review process.

We do not conduct reviews of the outcome of our investigation unless new information or evidence which may have a material effect on the decision becomes available.

Customer Survey

You will receive a customer survey in the next six to eight weeks and I would encourage you to take a few minutes of your time to complete it.

Your response will tell us what you thought about how your complaint was dealt with and help us to identify areas for improvement and so provide a better service to the public.

Retention of your complaint

The Police Ombudsman will retain your complaint in line with our Retention and Disposal Schedule. If you would like further detail on how we collect, use and safeguard the personal information we hold, you can view our Privacy Notice and the Schedule on our website https://www.policeombudsman.org/access-to-information.

Yours sincerely,

I.Okorie
Ikenna Okorie
Investigating Officer
Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland