Sunday, February 20, 2011

Ombudsman 101

If there ever was an "Ombudsman" class, I am guessing that there would be an emphasis on taking the time to actually read the letter or complaint. I mean, really read it in its entirety. Most complaints will have a mixture of truths, half-truths and bald faced lies. Some will be direct and to the point with limited bias. Our mission is to pull the major issues out of the letter and to find the answers to the questions or the rationale behind the issue. It is up to us to "corroborate" or confirm the validity of the statements or to investigate the cause of the problem. Not very difficult.

You would be surprised at how simple it is to write an email asking for clarification.

So we confirm truths and half truths. To a point. Bald faced lies we ignore. And the most important thing that an Ombudsman can do is to Follow Up! Most letters or complaints have a tendency to include one common denominator. The individual has been ignored or the question was never answered. Right or wrong isn't necessarily the case. People want to be heard. And they deserve to be.

It doesn’t make a bit of difference if the letter is written by a known criminal. Either they have a case or they don't. Some of my best criminal investigations were initiated by a Prisoner who complained of being robbed of his belongings   . . .  while he was in jail. My job is to see if it happened. Not to treat the crook any more of a criminal or to make any judgments. Behavior makes a crime, not the look or the face.

No comments: