National Black Police Association Warns Against Reactive Reforms After Henry Nowak Murder
Andy George, the head of the National Black Police Association (NBPA), has criticised proposals to revise anti-racism guidance within police forces, describing them as “not well thought-out” and “reactive” in the wake of Henry Nowak's murder.
George, a Police Service of Northern Ireland chief inspector, highlighted that the speed with which policing bodies are now considering changes stands in stark contrast to the slower pace of reforms addressing issues impacting Black communities. He suggested this rapid response is driven by social media and broader public life.
The controversy stems from the death of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak, who was arrested while dying after his attacker, Vickrum Digwa, falsely claimed racial abuse. Digwa was subsequently sentenced to a minimum of 21 years in prison for the murder.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has launched an investigation into the police response. Concurrently, the National Police Chiefs' Council is reviewing an anti-racism commitment, which asserts that achieving racial equality does not mean treating everyone identically or being “colour blind”. This review follows accusations from opposition politicians of “two-tier policing” standards.
Former Home Secretary Jack Straw commented that policing had “over-corrected” following the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence. He argued that “vocal pressure groups” had exerted undue influence on police race guidance, necessitating “much greater care”. Similarly, Baroness Kishwar Falkner, former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, called for the removal of unconscious bias training in public bodies, citing its ineffectiveness, and accused organisations of “virtue signalling”.
Baroness Lawrence, Stephen Lawrence's mother, offered condolences to the Nowak family in the House of Lords, stating the incident “should never have happened” and placing blame on the police for the events of that night.
