A Hampshire police boss has ordered an independent review following the stabbing murder of a student in Southampton.
Donna Jones, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire, has requested an urgent inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) following the murder of Henry Nowak on December 3, 2025.
Ms Jones said: "It is a matter of the gravest concern that officers arrived at the scene of a fatal stabbing without adequate information about what they were walking into.
"Henry died on a street in Southampton, handcuffed, having told police officers on multiple occasions that he had been stabbed and that he could not breathe."
She added: "Henry’s family deserve answers and the public deserves reassurance that the police are trained to serve without fear or favour.”
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A statement said: "The Commissioner has requested the Inspectorate examine the culture and performance of the control room and its ability to communicate critical threat information to officers on the ground.
"The PCC has also said the Inspectorate should examine the training provided to frontline officers responding to knife crime incidents, including the application of immediate first aid, and the physiological presentation of serious internal bleeding.
"The adequacy and regularity of that training will also be reviewed, and how officers are trained to triage competing accounts at the scene of a violent incident. Specifically, whether the provision of immediate medical assistance is treated as an unconditional duty that operates independently of any assessment of culpability."
The review will not interfere with the already ongoing investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
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