Henry Nowak's death raises more questions about UK policing and race

The execution of Henry Nowak and the mode helium was treated by constabulary successful his last moments has prompted outrage and condemnation, and an apology from the constabulary to his family.

How could it beryllium that constabulary officers arriving astatine a transgression country successful Southampton past December did not instantly unreserved to assistance the 18-year-old arsenic helium laic slumped connected the ground? Instead, video from a bodycam showed constabulary putting the dying teen successful handcuffs.

Why did they readily judge the mendacious assertion by Vikra Digwa, a Sikh man, that helium had been racially abused by the pupil helium had fatally stabbed?

A abstracted Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) probe into the officers' behaviour is ongoing, and it volition beryllium immoderate clip earlier we afloat recognize what happened successful this lawsuit oregon whether it is indicative of wider problems successful policing.

Regardless, it has prompted different situation successful nationalist spot successful the constabulary related to contention - though this time, the questions are different.

It has besides led immoderate serving officers to question whether a bid of scandals and highly captious reports detailing biased attraction of taste minorities by constabulary person made officers much sympathetic to claims of racism than different offences.

One serviceman told me: "We've had respective reports astir however racist we are successful the past fewer years erstwhile it comes to achromatic radical and Asian people, and truthful we're precise cautious erstwhile handling cases involving antithetic races - and truthful what happened successful Southampton is casual to spot why. Maybe we're excessively cautious now."

Another said: "We person specified a hard occupation and we're ever scrutinised. But we request to get it right. I conscionable privation radical got the unit we're nether due to the fact that of the claims we're racist by those who've [written captious reports]."

This snapshot of sentiment should not beryllium taken arsenic reflecting the views of each officers, but others person privately echoed akin sentiments.

The information that constabulary forces person been nether unit to code radical bias should beryllium nary astonishment erstwhile the revelations of caller years are taken into consideration, including the nonaccomplishment of the Metropolitan Police to decently analyse the racist execution of Stephen Lawrence successful 1993.

In 2022, IOPC recovered grounds of highly discriminatory messages being exchanged betwixt Met officers.

A twelvemonth later, Dame Louise Casey's probe concluded again that the Met was institutionally racist, words that reverberated crossed UK policing.

In October 2025, a BBC undercover probe uncovered racism astatine Charing Cross constabulary station, arsenic good arsenic different discriminatory behaviour.

There person been cases distant from the superior excessively - for example, since 2022 8 members of unit astatine West Yorkshire Police person been dismissed pursuing misconduct investigations implicit radical discrimination.

Then determination are long-running issues similar "stop and search" tactics, which studies suggest person disproportionately been utilized connected achromatic radical successful London.

The scandals and investigations mean elder officers person done a batch of enactment addressing imaginable radical bias wrong their forces successful caller years.

Simultaneously, determination person been allegations of alleged two-tier policing - the assertion that number communities get an easier thrust due to the fact that officers are truthful disquieted astir being accused of racism.

One elder serving serviceman enactment it similar this: "A past of racism successful policing is thing we've had to look astatine and respond to - but possibly we've gone excessively acold the different way?

"At the bosom of what we bash is dainty everyone the aforesaid - and we request to marque definite we're doing that".

This week determination has been peculiar absorption connected the wording of a 2022 papers called the Police Race Action Plan, which was issued to constabulary forces mounting retired however officers should attack race.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPPC) committed to "responding to individuals and communities according to their circumstantial needs, circumstances and experiences".

The papers goes connected to accidental that "does not mean treating everyone 'the same' oregon being 'colour blind'".

Some person pointed to that wording arsenic grounds constabulary officers are being trained to prioritise avoiding bias supra each else.

But it is important to enactment this is not the lone papers informing constabulary behaviour. The College of Policing's codification of morals states: "We gain the public's assurance erstwhile we perceive to what they person to say, marque decisions that are just and unbiased, and are unfastened and honorable astir our decisions."

The National Police Chiefs' Council has announced it volition reappraisal of contention guidance, aft suggestions that it whitethorn person shaped however officers reacted astatine the scene, and the location caput believes the wording utilized successful the 2002 papers was clumsy.

Barrister Abimbola Johnson, who was seat of the autarkic committee acceptable up to oversee the penning of those documents, told BBC Radio 5 Live's Nicky Campbell it was incorrect to nexus it to the Henry Nowak case.

She said the committedness was borne retired of a "recognition that erstwhile you look astatine each of the disproportionality successful narration to usage of force… achromatic communities are the ones who person the worst of policing".

In bid to dainty everyone fairly, Johnson said, officers person to beryllium alert of "seeing people's differences, recognising circumstances and past treating radical accordingly".

She continued: "I person seen horrific examples of footage similar Henry Nowak's death, wherever you spot constabulary handcuffing radical erstwhile they are successful moments of vulnerability, erstwhile they are connected unwell, erstwhile determination are successful infinitesimal of crisis, against the guidelines which are acceptable retired for usage of force… and unluckily the disproportionate radical who are connected the receiving extremity of that thin to beryllium the radical of colour."

But Sue Sim, erstwhile main constable of Northumbria Police, called for the 2022 papers to beryllium withdrawn and rewritten.

She said: "Those officers look to person attended a country with a content that they indispensable enactment thing that is allegedly racially motivated supra thing else. And that is perfectly inaccurate, it's wrong."

However, similar respective different elder officers, she rejected the conception that two-tier policing exists.

Shabnam Chaudri, a erstwhile elder Met detective with 30 years' experience, rejected the thought anti-racism grooming could relationship for however officers responded the nighttime Henry Nowak was killed.

She told Radio 5 Live: "In my idiosyncratic opinion, they breached each facet of the basal principles of policing."

Neil Basu, erstwhile antagonistic coercion pb of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), besides vehemently denied the claim, who said "in my 30 years of policing I person not seen grounds of two-tier policing crossed the profession", adding the proposition was "wrong, unsafe and unsupported by fact".

The cognition of two-tier policing has taken clasp for some. In Southampton connected Tuesday, 11 constabulary officers were injured during clashes with a assemblage which included immoderate known far-right activists.

So the question facing British constabulary is this: however tin forces guarantee racism successful policing is stamped out, portion besides retaining the assurance of a conception of achromatic British nine who judge they are present much apt to beryllium victims of bias?

In the aftermath of a lawsuit arsenic upsetting and troubling arsenic the decease of Henry Nowak, that volition not beryllium an casual question to answer.