The families of the Nottingham attack victims have welcomed the placing of Nottinghamshire Police being put into special measures by the chief inspector of constabulary. University students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar were stabbed to death in Ilkeston Road in the city at around 4am on June 13 by Valdo Calocane.
He was later made subject of an indefinite hospital order by a judge after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of the 19-year-olds by reason of diminished responsibility.
In a statement, the Webber and O’Malley-Kumar families said: “As families we have been very clear in the concerns we have raised regarding Nottinghamshire Police.
“Not only in the investigation itself into the murder of our loved ones, but also in the failures, missed opportunities, lessons and poor communication before, during and after.
“The IOPC are carrying out investigations into Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire constabularies and we have our first meeting with them on the March 26.
“During this meeting we intend to provide thorough detail and evidence to back up all of our concerns.”
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) announced the move on Monday, saying the East Midlands force “needs to improve how it manages and carries out effective investigations, and make sure that victims get the support they need”.
It added that the force “doesn’t have adequate processes, planning or governance arrangements in place to monitor performance effectively or identify areas where improvement is required”.
It comes after the mother of one of Nottingham knife attacker Valdo Calocane’s victims said she had “lost faith” in the force’s leadership and called for Chief Constable Kate Meynell to step aside while allegations of failings are investigated.
The watchdog said the decision was not linked to the force’s handling of the case.
Forces are moved into special measures – which HMICFRS calls being subjected to an “enhanced level of monitoring” under what is known as the “engage” process – when they are not responding to concerns raised by the watchdog or are not “managing, mitigating or eradicating these concerns”.
Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher said: “Nottinghamshire Police has been asked to urgently produce an improvement plan and will meet regularly with our inspectors.
“We will work closely with the force to monitor its progress against these important and necessary changes.”
Nottinghamshire joins five other forces currently in special measures, including the Metropolitan Police, West Midlands, Staffordshire, Devon and Cornwall, and Wiltshire.
When asked by the PA news agency whether the move was as a result of concerns raised about the force’s handling of the Nottingham attacks, an HMICFRS spokeswoman said: “This decision is not related to the force’s handling of the Valdo Calocane case,” adding: “We did not look at the specific circumstances of this case.”
The reasons behind the decision will be detailed in an inspection report due to be published later this year.
The under-fire force is already facing probes from regulator the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and the College of Policing amid accusations of a series of failings in the wake of Calocane’s killings.
The families of Barnaby and Grace added: “Our criticisms are aimed at the leadership of both forces and also the management and failures of the senior investigating officer in the Nottinghamshire force in charge of our own case.
“We welcome the news today that the HMICFRS recognise that Nottinghamshire Police require intervention and urgent improvement and that they have effectively been placed into ‘special measures’.
“We hope this gives the residents of Nottingham more reassurance in their public safety.
“In her response to today’s report Chief Constable Kate Meynell has advised, ‘Victims of crime are at the heart of everything that we do’.
“Given the misinformation, mistruths and failures that we as devastated families have had to contend with from this police force, we could not more strongly disagree with her.
“We have to be optimistic that proper investigations will be carried out and result in more than ‘lessons learned and apologies’ we want real change to happen.
“And that must, without doubt, include individual and organisational ownership and responsibility.”
