Policing Failures and the Shadow of the Nottingham Attacks
A former senior Metropolitan Police officer has pointed to a pervasive “decline of British policing” as the central issue linking a series of failures that ultimately preceded the tragic events of the 2023 Nottingham attacks. David Gilbertson, who served with Scotland Yard for 35 years, reaching the rank of Deputy Assistant Commissioner, believes a significant “lack of leadership and accountability” among senior police ranks is to blame for the inability to apprehend Valdo Calocane before he claimed the lives of two university students and a school caretaker.
Speaking in the wake of the third week of the official inquiry into the attacks, Gilbertson articulated a stark assessment: the issues exposed are not isolated incidents. Instead, he argues, they are symptomatic of a broader, decades-long erosion within the police service.
“There’s a golden thread that runs through all of this and that’s the decline of policing over the last 20 to 30 years,” Gilbertson stated. He highlighted an “absolutely appalling lack of leadership and supervision within the police service.” Gilbertson stressed that while it might be tempting to focus on individual officers on the ground, the ultimate responsibility lies with those in command. “The people to blame are those in command,” he asserted, calling for a “profound rejigging of the way we look at command ability and accountability in the police service.” He questioned when senior officers would begin to take personal responsibility, stating, “When are we going to see a senior officer put his or her hand on their heart and say, this is my fault. I didn’t brief an officer properly.”
A Catalogue of Missed Opportunities
The inquiry has brought to light a disturbing pattern of incidents involving Calocane, beginning as early as 2020, which demonstrated his escalating mental instability and a clear propensity for violence. Despite these warning signs, which included stalking behaviour, an assault on a police officer, and a terrifying incident involving an Italian student, multiple police forces failed to connect the dots and recognise the escalating threat he posed.
One of the most chilling revelations from the inquiry concerns Calocane’s menacing of an Italian student in May 2020. The court heard how the young woman was so petrified by his repeated assaults on her door that she was forced to leap from her window, sustaining permanent spinal injuries. Astonishingly, the victim was informed that Calocane would not be prosecuted. This decision was reportedly made by a sergeant who, based solely on a psychiatrist’s email stating Calocane had no recollection of the offence, chose to drop the case.
Gilbertson expressed his bewilderment at this decision-making process. “Why was a sergeant personally dealing with a case of that complexity and importance?” he questioned. “Why were they not supervised by a more senior officer?” He underscored the gravity of the situation, stating, “This was serious, it was life or death for that woman.” He contrasted this with past practices, where “in the old days, you would have had a Superintendent signing off. That person takes authority, removing the responsibility and the liability from the junior officer who should not have it in the first place.”
The Unexecuted Warrant and Inter-Force Lapses
Further compounding the tragedy is the fact that Valdo Calocane had an outstanding warrant for his arrest at the time of the June 13, 2023, attacks. This warrant was issued in September 2022 after Calocane failed to appear in court on a charge of assaulting an emergency worker. Crucially, it remained unexecuted for a staggering ten months.
During this period of inaction, Calocane committed further offences, including assaulting two colleagues at a warehouse in Kegworth, Leicestershire, just weeks before the murders. While Leicestershire Police attended the scene of this assault, they inexplicably failed to identify the active warrant for his arrest.
The lack of communication and coordination between the two police forces involved is another critical failure identified. Despite knowing Calocane was present in the Nottingham area, the forces did not effectively share information, leaving him free to continue his actions unchecked. Gilbertson conveyed his profound surprise at this missed opportunity to apprehend Calocane before his deadly rampage. He pointed out the obvious: “They must have had an address for him. He was not an international criminal who had fled the country.”
Reclaiming Professional Pride and Accountability
Reflecting on his own career, Gilbertson spoke of a deep sense of personal responsibility that he believes is now lacking. “When I was a young investigator, I always felt I owned a case. I kept it with me. It was mine,” he explained. He elaborated on the duty of care and professional pride that drove his work. “If a character did not turn up at court or if the victim wanted to know what was going on, that was my responsibility.”
He dismissed the notion that current workloads are an insurmountable barrier. “It is not just about case volume,” he stated, recalling managing “20 or 30 cases at once.” He emphasised that officers could not simply claim “you have too much work on.” While he expressed a reluctance to sound like someone lamenting the past, he concluded, “But, we genuinely did it better. We owned what we were doing, we felt responsible for it. We did not regard the public as our enemy.”
The full analysis of the Nottingham attacks inquiry by David Gilbertson is available exclusively on The Crime Desk.
- Key Failures Highlighted:
- Lack of leadership and accountability within senior police ranks.
- Insufficient supervision of junior officers dealing with complex cases.
- Failure to act on multiple instances of violent behaviour and mental health concerns.
- Unexecuted arrest warrants for extended periods.
- Poor inter-force communication and intelligence sharing.
The ongoing inquiry seeks to address these critical systemic issues to prevent future tragedies.
