An open letter from Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry:
As Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner I take my role as the voice of the people on policing and crime issues incredibly seriously.
It is my job to listen to communities and ensure that their opinions are heard loud and clear by those in power.
I recently met the families of Grace O'Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates – victims of killer Valdo Calocane.
I have also spent time talking with Wayne Birkett, who was lucky to survive, but has been left physically and mentally scarred by Calocane.
I know the whole community is united with them in grief and horror at the events that unfolded in the early hours of 13 June 2023.
In 90 minutes three people had their lives cruelly stolen and three others devastated by life changing injuries in an act of brutality most people can barely fathom.
We must now all stand together in our determination and commitment to ensure everything is done to prevent something like this ever happening again.
Our focus should be, and is, on ensuring the legacy of the victims is lasting and positive change.
That is why I wholeheartedly support calls for a public inquiry into the events leading up to, and the aftermath of, this shocking crime and others where mental health has been established as a critical factor.
I welcome the multitude of enquiries, investigations and reviews being launched by all the agencies that have been involved in this case. Undoubtedly this will highlight mistakes, process weaknesses and circumstances which I hope will provide critical learning.
Yet we also recognise that these individual enquiries will likely focus on how each agency acted and not necessarily how they interacted. They are also squarely focused on a specific case.
If we are to find answers to the real change necessary to protect our communities from a repeat incident then a whole system review is needed.
The UK charity Hundred Families reports that on average 120 families a year are bereaved as a result of mental health homicides in the UK each year - around 20% of the total number of unlawful killings in the country each year.
Unfortunately the case in Nottingham appears not to be an isolated one.
