Issue of a County Administrative Board’s handling of considerations relating to suspicion of a criminal offence

As the Parliamentary Ombudsman has become aware of the fact that the County Administrative Board of Västra Götaland did not submit a prosecution notice in a case following an animal welfare control, despite the fact that several deficiencies were noted, she decided to review the matter on her own initiative.

According to the County Administrative Board, the authority had followed their procedure and considered whether a prosecution notice should be submitted, without documenting the grounds for this.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman states that what has been established does not give sufficient grounds for criticism, but remarks that in doubtful or complicated cases, it may be appropriate to document the grounds for a decision not to submit a prosecution notice. According to the Parliamentary Ombudsman, there are grounds for the County Administrative Board to review its procedures in this regard.