Virewpoint: the aftermath of tragedy

Following the conviction of Vickrum Digwa for the murder of university student Henry Nowak, Chris Hobbs relfects on the criticiism of officers who attended the fatal incident.

The death of Stephen Lawrence is considered by many to be a watershed moment in the history of the British police service with the term ‘institutionally racist’ a millstone that would hang around the necks of the police service for many years. It remains to be seen whether the tragic murder of Henry Nowak has the same profound effect.

Much criticism comes from those who have never had to arrive on the scene of a significant incident and, amidst the chaos, ascertain what has occurred, what action needs to be taken and whether there is a significant threat to the public and/or themselves.

In this case the waters were clearly muddied by the brother of the assailant who according to reports, dialled 999 claiming that there was an ongoing racial incident in which they were the victims. The exact sequence of events is, however blurred and whilst transcripts of trials are not released as a matter of course, this perhaps would have been a wise course of action which would have help clarify the precise sequence of events without perhaps, further traumatising Henry’s family.

Much criticism is being directed against the three officers who initially responded to the call for not immediately realising that Henry had been stabbed. Reports state that upon their arrival at the scene, the same allegations in respect of racism were made to officers by the brothers.

The situation must have been even more confusing if, as reported by GB News and others, officers found Henry leaning against a house wall in Belmont Road, supported by the defendant’s (Digwa’s) father.

There is no doubt that Henry claimed he had been stabbed but was handcuffed for three minutes before officers realised, he was in serious trouble. Handcuffs were removed and officers, as so frequently happens on the streets of the UK, became engaged in a battle to save the victims life. Sadly, it emerged during the trial that no medical intervention by officers or other emergency services could havr saved Harry’s life.

This tragedy and the conviction of Digwa resulted in an avalanche of criticism of the officers and demands for all footage to be released. Comparisons were made with the Golders Green incident where footage of the police use of force against terrorists was rapidly placed in the public domain.

The death of Henry and the actions of officers is, however, now the subject of an Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation which could lead to legal and misconduct proceedings therefore the release of footage could prejudice those future proceedings. It is also very much police policy not to place footage in the public domain that shows individuals in their final minutes of life or are dead. Another key factor is consideration for the grieving, bereaved relatives.

Sinister requests could endanger officers

The conclusion of the trial and the guilty verdict resulted in a tidal wave of criticism of police in respect of ‘two-tier’ policing and ‘anti-white racism.’ As with previous incidents, collective smearing of all police officers was rampant across social media. Disturbingly two well- known individuals who are, to say the least, very much on the right of the political spectrum, asked that anyone in possession of details of the three officers should forward them; this presumably for public exposure or some form of harassment or for more sinister actions. Whilst names may not be an issue, car registrations and home addresses would be.

Names of officers were subsequently forwarded via ‘X’ to those individuals who made the request but these were details already in the public domain by virtue of appearing on the Hampshire Police website due to the fact that they were neighbourhood police officers. This meant that they were unlikely to be those who responded to the 999 call at 11PM; those officers were almost certainly from Hampshire police response teams.

The above- mentioned request for names was an uncomfortable reminder of the controversial naming of the officer known as NX121 who was responsible to the fatal shooting of gang member Chris Kaba. There were and possibly still are, concerns for the safety of the officer in respect of his being a potential revenge target for others involved in London’s gangland.

It perhaps goes without saying that police action at Golder’s Green and the death of Chris Kaba gained the approbation of those on the political right who also condemned, as did many others, the decision not to proceed with a third trial in respect of the Manchester Airport incident where Muslim males of Pakistani heritage fought with police.

Two-tier, woke and anti-white

It is those very same individuals on the political right who are now, in the aftermath of Henry’s death, criticising police in respect of being woke/DEI/ anti-white racists and ‘two tier.’ The allegations have been consistently directed against police over recent years including by leading Conservative politicians. These have caused particular resentment in policing circles due the fact that it was the Conservatives, when in government, who imposed swingeing cuts upon the UK’s police service from which it has never recovered.

As stated above, whilst those on the political right frequently refer to ‘two-tier policing,’ it should be noted that two-tier policing allegations emanate from other individuals and organisations including those on the left. Black activist groups, Islamic and Muslim organisations, pro-Palestinian activists, environmentalists, football fans together with Jewish organisations and Iranian dissident groups have all been critical of so called ‘two-tier policing.’ Criticism from the far-right is perhaps more concerning with a number of posts threatening a day of reckoning together with AI created images of UK police as Nazis or as servants to Islamists. There have also been general threats directed against officer’s families.

Collective smearing

Another consequence of this tragedy concerns the Sikh community who have always been regarded with relative equanimity by those on the right who make no secret of their contempt for Muslims. This is part of a statement issued by the Sikh Federation; ‘The entire Sikh community has been “demonised” as one individual has broken the law and been found guilty of murder. The murder weapon was NOT a Kirpan (one of the 5 Ks).

An alternative term to ‘demonised’ which is also applicable to police is ‘collective smearing’ and it is to be hoped that common sense will prevail aided by an appropriate sentence for the killer which I’m sure would be welcomed by the Sikh community.

The realities of modern policing

Whilst the death of Henry and indeed the circumstances surrounding the tragedy will have devasted the officers involved, police critics on all sides conveniently forget that police, when attending traumatic events, do act with both bravery and compassion. Officers will all too often attend a stabbing or shooting not knowing what they will encounter, namely whether they will have to deal with a life-ending threat to themselves and others or have to administer life-saving first aid or all three.

Ignored by police critics are the number of lives saved by officers who arrive at the scenes of carnage before paramedics and render life-saving first aid. These scenes of carnage will include stabbings, shootings and road-traffic accidents. Officers will also save lives when they are called to those suffering a mental health crisis and have decided that life is no longer worth living. This will, not infrequently, involve a dangerous intervention.

Many of these interventions will remain with officers for life due to the trauma they’ve experienced which may involve seeing the individual die despite their best efforts. On other occasions all officers can do is offer comfort to those for whom no more can be done. Occasionally errors will be made which will be bitterly regretted.

Lives will also be saved by police stop and search and the seizure of weapons. Those who campaign against stop and search should perhaps remember that most victims of gun and knife crime would still be alive had police conducted a stop and search on their killer before that individual encountered the unfortunate victim. This of course applies to Vickrum Digwa.

Sadly, however, the murder of Henry and the subsequent fall-out will only serve to feed the current collapse of police morale throughout the country which is leading to an exodus of officers who have simply had enough.

In a ‘scattergun’ letter to each and every national paper following the death of Henry and the subsequent fallout, I concluded with the following:

“During recent years, officers have found that they are being constantly ‘collectively smeared;’ their pensions and retirement dates are currently being interfered with; senior officers are trying to cut their overtime rates to save money; pay is recognised as being poor as is police leadership; officers are frustrated by poor ‘comms’ (police force communications with the public) and constant, unbalanced denigration by national and social media; they have to contend with so called auditors sticking phones in their faces asking banal questions hoping for an injudicious reply that could justify a complaint and financially rewarding social media “clicks;” they are being assaulted in record numbers.

Sadly, the plight of police officers appears to be a matter of total indifference to politicians and indeed to police institutions notably a Police Federation riven by internal strife, the National Police Chiefs Council and the College of Policing.

As for police critics across the political spectrum, just be careful of what you wish for. The mantra that ‘a policeman’s (and women’s!!) lot is not a happy one’ has never been more apposite.

Chris Hobbs is a former Special Branch officer.

Category: CourtRace