Henry Nowak’s death shows its time for a cross party commission into the police - Yorkshire Post Letters

I was shocked by the appalling murder of Henry Nowak, the 18-year-old young man stabbed to death in a Southampton street for no apparent reason other than he was white. I was also shocked that Henry's killer is a member of the Sikh Community.

As a former NHS Chief Executive, I have worked with Sikh communities and found them to be pleasant, respectful people who make an important contribution to our society, particularly the NHS.

This is the first occasion I have known of any such incident with a member of the Sikh community and sincerely hope this tragic event is not used to despoil what has been a successful relationship between our communities over the decades. I also understand this is very much the wish of Henry’s family.

Under the Sikh Religion men are expected to carry a small religious knife, which Henry’s attacker carried.

Serious issues have arisen with the killer's family in their behaviour both at the time of Henry's death and at the conclusion of court proceedings which need to be addressed.

There also needs to be a full investigation into the conduct of the officers involved to understand why they arrested and handcuffed a helpless young man repeatedly pleading for help telling them that he had been stabbed and could not breath whilst he sadly died.

Accountability needs to be determined regarding Henry's death. Not only the conduct of Police officers needs to be investigated but the training, guidelines and policies for such events also need to be reviewed to ensure there is procedural clarity, which appeared not to be present in Henry’s case.

Deaths in police custody occur at a level to warrant serious investigation in my view. In Henry’s case, there are many matters of concern that need to be fully explored e.g. why were his pleas ignored and why was he handcuffed but his killer was not?

The public are increasingly becoming concerned about their personal safety and the way the police appear to be becoming politicised.

The time is now for a formal Cross Party Commission to be undertaken of the National Police Forces in terms of Philosophy, Structure, Support, Systems, Training and Qualifications before there is a total collapse in the community’s confidence in our Police Forces which are increasingly and demonstrably unfit for purpose.