Police force at centre of Henry Nowak arrest 'pressured' officers into diversity training

Officers within the police force responsible for the arrest of Henry Nowak moments before his death claim they felt “controlled and pressured" after being subjected to mandatory diversity training, a survey has revealed.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary staff are trained to be aware of racism, unconscious bias, and privilege, alongside contested critical race theory.

A recent staff survey uncovered by The Times found one in seven of those at the force had felt “controlled and pressured” to adopt these notions, living in fear that “mistakes would have been held against me”.

A fifth also said they feared being “rejected for saying the wrong thing" – the same defence used to justify not pursuing criminal charges against those involved in grooming gang scandals.

Guidance available to view on the force's website cites "treating people differently" based on ethnicity, leading to sharp criticisms of two-tier policing in Britain.

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