Police Under Investigation After Failing to Help Dying Student

An 18-year-old university student named Henry Nowak was stabbed to death in Southampton in December 2025. Video showed that when police arrived, they put handcuffs on Nowak while he was bleeding from multiple stab wounds—even as he tried to tell them he was hurt. Now, Hampshire Police is being investigated to understand why this happened.

Vickrum Digwa, a 23-year-old man, was found guilty of Nowak's murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 21 years. He was also convicted of carrying a knife in public.

What Went Wrong

The investigation will look at why police made such serious mistakes. According to the Police and Crime Commissioner, officers showed up without proper information about what incident they were responding to. The control room—the headquarters where police send officers to emergencies—did not give them the details they needed. Officers also were not trained well enough to spot that Nowak was dying.

Digwa had lied to police, telling them that Nowak had attacked him. Because of this false story, police treated the dying student as a suspect instead of a victim. Digwa stayed at the scene the whole time.

The Knife and Religious Law

The case raises a tricky legal question about knives and religion. Digwa said he was allowed to carry the knife because he is Sikh, and some Sikhs carry ceremonial daggers called kirpans for religious reasons. UK law has an exception for these ceremonial knives. However, the court decided against him—either because his knife didn't fit the rules or because he was not using it for the right purpose.

Nowak had been walking alone back to his student apartment after going out when Digwa attacked him.

Why This Matters to People Outside Hampshire

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said watching the video made him feel "sick" and that "serious questions" need answers. When a prime minister speaks publicly about a police incident, it signals that something has gone very wrong.

More than 1,000 people protested outside Hampshire Police headquarters in June 2026. Some speakers at the protest included far-right political figures. Police and the protester clashed, resulting in two arrests. One officer involved in Nowak's arrest has since resigned.

The context here matters: crimes get solved—Digwa was caught and convicted—but the police response was broken at the most basic level. That gap between catching the criminal and the failures in emergency response is what's drawing so much attention.

What Happens Now

Hampshire Police is being inspected by HMICFRS, which is the independent body that oversees police forces in England and Wales. This is the most serious type of review available. It typically takes several months, and its findings can lead to changes in how police train officers and run their control rooms.

Nowak's family wants a full, transparent investigation into what happened. The inspection will likely influence how other police forces across the country handle knife crime emergencies and train their control room staff. The real test is whether this inspection leads to actual changes in police training and procedures, or whether it becomes something that looks good on paper but doesn't change much in practice.