Tag: Sandy Hermiston
Complaints about gov’t surge post lockdown
(CNS): The Office of the Ombudsman has reported a surge in complaints about government, including maladministration, as well as data protection complaints (which also covers the private sector) since the COVID-19 lockdown. Members of the public made 97 enquiries during July, August and September, 74 of which were placed under investigation. During this quarter the […]
Historic land records must be released
(CNS): The Lands and Survey department has been ordered to release records showing how one decision was made during the Cayman Islands’ cadastral survey in the 1970s over land ownership. In what could turn out to be an important case for local families who believe land was wrongly taken from them, the Office of the […]
Registrar told to stop collecting unlawful data
(CNS): The ombudsman has accused the registrar of companies of using a “blunt instrument” to collect information from people with no legal basis. In a recent enforcement order under the Data Protection Law, Sandy Hermiston told the registrar to stop collecting personal data from people who hold minority shares or voting rights in companies, outside […]
Ombudsman finds ‘serious issues’ with LT records
(CNS): Claims by the Department of Labour and Pensions that it wasn’t sure where some records were in response to a freedom of information request was “a serious issue”, Ombudsman Sandy Hermiston said in her latest appeal decision. Hermiston has ordered the DLP to release dozens of records dating back to 2014, which it had […]
Cops favoured colleague in domestic violence case
(CNS): Police officers failed to conduct a “thorough, impartial and timely” investigation of a domestic violence incident, according to a report released by the Office of the Ombudsman, which reviewed the case after learning officers had not followed the RCIPS Domestic Violence Policy. Despite numerous shortcomings in the investigation and the disciplinary action recommended by […]
Maladministration occupies ombudsman
(CNS): The Office of the Ombudsman has reported that maladministration by some civil servants is dominating its work, which now covers a range of issues, from data protection to whistleblowing. The oversight body, which was created in September 2017 following the merger of the offices of the information and complaints commissioners, handled 393 enquiries last […]
PTU ignores bus complaints one year on
(CNS): A passenger who made several credible complaints and provided documented evidence about drivers on the local bus routes last June was ignored, given the runaround and generally dismissed by the Public Transport Unit (PTU). And despite recommendations from the ombudsman, who found the unit was at fault, neither the PTU management nor the Public […]
Tribunal breaches statutory timelines
(CNS): Almost a dozen cases before the Labour Appeals Tribunal (LAT) missed the statutory deadline, Ombudsman Sandy Hermiston has found following a maladministration investigation by her office. Despite breaching the statutory timeline for cases to be heard 11 times, there will be no consequences for the tribunal but officials have agreed to implement the directions […]
CoP accepts findings in rogue rider arrest
(CNS): Police Commissioner Derek Byrne has said that he accepts the findings of the Ombudsman Sandy Hermiston, following an independent review of the arrest of a rogue rider on 4 April, where an officer was accused of using unnecessary force. In a short statement in response to the report, Byrne said a discipline investigation has […]
Cop used ‘unnecessary’ force in rogue rider case
(CNS): An investigation into how police handled a pursuit of rogue riders in April found that one officer used “unnecessary and unreasonable force” during the arrest and behaved badly to a member of the public at the scene. The Office of the Ombudsman also found that an off-duty officer made matters worse when he joined […]
Gov’t lawyers misuse FOI law
(CNS): The ombudsman has ordered the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to disclose the identity of the person who wrote an important report relating to a complaint by an applicant when she was a minor. In her latest appeal decision, Sandy Hermiston found, for several reasons, that the government lawyers wrongly refused […]
