GovWire

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 introduced a requirement on the police and local authorities in England and Wales and integrated care boards in England and local health boards in Wales, to review the circumstances of certain homicides where:

• the victim was aged 18 or over
• the events surrounding their death involved, or were likely to have involved, the use of an offensive weapon

The purpose of these reviews is to ensure that when a qualifying homicide takes place, local partners:

• identify the lessons to be learnt from the death
• consider whether any action should be taken as a result
• share the outcome

The intention is that these reviews will improve the national and local understanding of what causes homicide and serious violence, better equipping services to prevent weapons-enabled homicides.

The reviews are being piloted in certain areas of London and the West Midlands, and in South Wales.