Julie Etchingham

Julie Etchingham is a newsreader, presenter and broadcast journalist with over three decades of experience working across the BBC, Sky News and ITV. She has chaired general election leaders’ debates, presented and reported on US Presidential elections, and co-presented coverage of major royal weddings, Jubilees and funerals. Julie has also led live coverage of developing news stories including the 7/7 bombings in London and the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. Julie has hosted awards ceremonies and moderated international conferences, including one at the Vatican with Pope Francis.

Chief Constable Gavin Stephens QPM

Gavin was elected to the Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) in 2022 and took up the role in April 2023, having served in Surrey Police from Constable to Chief Constable.

As Chair of NPCC Gavin is responsible for ensuring strong co-ordination and collaboration across UK Policing, including British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. Policing practices across the UK are held together by strong principles and values, which are rooted in policing by consent. Working together with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, the College of Policing, His Majesty’s Inspectorate, the National Crime Agency, and many other public and voluntary bodies, Gavin ensures NPCC contributes to a shared vision of achieving the must trusted and engaged policing service in the world, by making communities safer and stronger.

Gavin is the Senior Responsible Officer for the national Police Race Action Plan. He is a Director of BlueLight Commercial and Police Digital Services. He chairs the Boards of the Criminal Records Office, and Police Crime Prevention Initiatives. He is a trustee of the charity Police Care UK, and chairs the Board of Trustees for Police Arboretum Memorial Trust. He is a patron of the Police Mutual Assurance Society.

In his former role as Chief Constable of Surrey, Gavin was chair of the NPCC Finance Coordination Committee and NPCC Communications Advisory Group. Prior to that he was NPCC lead for Neighbourhood Policing and chaired the committee to produce the College of Policing Guidelines on Modernising Neighbourhood Policing.

Born and bred in Hartlepool on the North East coast, Gavin studied engineering and management studies at the University of Cambridge and worked for GEC Marconi Research as a sponsored student. Upon graduation he joined Cambridgeshire Constabulary, then transferred to Surrey Police in 1996. He worked across a wide variety of roles including Head of Serious & Organised Crime, Professional Standards, and often returned to his passion of Neighbourhood Policing.

Session 1: Chairs introduction

APCC Chair Emily Spurrell

PCC Emily Spurrell was elected as Chair of the APCC in September 2024.

Emily is in her second term as Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside, having been first elected in May 2021 and re-elected in May 2024.

Prior to becoming PCC for Merseyside, Emily was Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner and served as a Liverpool City Councillor leading on Community Safety. 

Session 1: Chairs introduction

Professor Shane D. Johnson MBE

Professor Shane D. Johnson MBE is the Director of the Dawes Centre for Future Crime at University College London (UCL). He has published over 160 articles and book chapters on topics to include crime futures (e.g. Biotechnologies, Advanced materials, Generative AI, and the Internet of Things), reducing crime through design (policy as well as urban design), cybersecurity, understanding space-time patterns of crime, and developing the evidence base of what works to reduce crime.

His current interests focus on how developing technology and social change are influencing new forms of crime opportunity and how to address this. He is a member of the UK Home Office’s Scientific Advisory Council, a member of the Max Planck Institute Security Law and Crime Science Advisory Board, and sits on the editorial boards of the journals Criminology, Research in Crime and Delinquency, and the Journal of Quantitative Criminology.

In 2006, he received a Chief Constable’s commendation for his contribution to the development of the UK College of Policing’s Crime Reduction Toolkit, and an MBE in 2024 for public service.

Session 2: Plenary session: Crime over the next 10 years - impact on the public and policing

Rachel Phillips

Rachel is Deloitte’s Lead Partner for our Human Capital Practice across Policing, Home Affairs and Justice organisations. She brings c. 20 years’ experience working with government and public sector organisations across the breadth of organisational transformation programmes. Rachel has worked with Police Services world-wide, including in the UK, leading programmes ranging from multi-year operating model and digital transformations to corporate services modernisation.

Session 2: Plenary session: Crime over the next 10 years - impact on the public and policing

Sir Andy Marsh QPM

Chief Constable Sir Andy Marsh QPM joined the College of Policing as Chief Executive Officer in 2021. He is the longest serving Chief Constable in England and Wales and has a breadth of experience to draw from as the leader of policing’s professional body. Positioning the College as a relevant, dynamic, and connected system leader he is driving policing improvement based on the evidence of what works, by delivering betters standards and improving leadership.

Andy’s police career started in 1987 as a constable in Avon and Somerset Police. After operational and detective roles at various ranks, he went on to lead Hampshire and, latterly, Avon and Somerset, as Chief Constable.

He oversaw large-scale transformation at Hampshire, leading the force to be recognised as one of the leading, and best value for money nationally.

In Avon and Somerset, he led the internationally acclaimed approach to data by using advanced predictive analytics and visualisation to manage demand in tandem with equipping officers and staff with the latest technology. This enabled the Force to be recognised as one of the most efficient and effective.

Andy played a significant role as the UK's National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) lead for body worn video where he pioneered the increased use of the technology.

Andy was responsible for the NPCC International Coordination portfolio for six years.

At the College, Andy has overseen the introduction of a new Code of Ethics for Policing, a National Centre for Police Leadership – including the new Executive Leadership Programme, a new entry route, and changes to the police vetting system.

Andy holds an honorary doctorate of Laws from the University of the West of England.

In the King’s Birthday Honors List 2024, it was announced that Andy Marsh would receive a knighthood.

Session 2: Plenary session: Crime over the next 10 years - impact on the public and policing

Chief Constable Rachel Bacon

Chief Constable Rachel Bacon became Chief Constable of Durham Police in November 2023. She was previously Deputy Chief Constable of South Wales Police and during this time became the UK police lead for mental health. She worked nationally to improve policing service in this area, this included implementing national Right Care Right Person to ensure the right service reacts to calls impacting those in mental health crisis.

Rachel joined Sussex police in 1994 as a Police Constable where she performed a number of uniformed and detective roles, becoming Head of Crime for the force overseeing serious crime investigations.

Rachel transferred to Northumbria as Assistant Chief Constable in 2017 where she had varied responsibilities including overseeing crime, safeguarding and the Regional Organised Crime Unit. As an accredited Strategic Firearms and Public Order commander she led many complex operations on behalf of Northumbria Police.

Recently Chief Constable Bacon has become chair of the National Police Chiefs Council Local Policing Coordination Committee which has a mission to deliver universal policing service for all and provide the gateway to specialist support.

Session 2: Plenary session: Crime over the next 10 years - impact on the public and policing

Jo Coles – York & North Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Police, Fire and Crime

Jo was appointed as the Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire & Crime by York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith and took up her role in July 2024. She has committed to tackling domestic abuse, reducing levels of violence against women and girls, building public confidence in policing and driving budget efficiencies to increase investment in prevention and early intervention to tackle the causes of crime and anti- social behaviour. Born in North Yorkshire, Jo grew up in York and after graduating from the University of Warwick lived in Paris for a number of years before returning to the UK to continue her career. Her professional background includes work in the private and voluntary sectors working across the crime and justice sector and in youth provision. Jo has also worked in politics during periods of government and in opposition, serving as a trusted adviser to leading national politicians. In 2023 she was elected to City of York Council, leading on health and adult social care until her appointment as Deputy Mayor. She lives in York with her family and continues to serve as a local councillor, representing some of the most deprived communities in the city.

Session 2: Plenary session: Crime over the next 10 years - impact on the public and policing

The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP

Yvette Cooper was appointed Secretary of State for the Home Department on 5 July 2024. She was elected as the MP for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley in July 2024.

Session 3: Keynote Address

Professor Imran Rasul

Imran Rasul is Professor of Economics at University College London, Director of the Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and Co-Director of the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Centre on Wealth Concentration, Inequality and the Economy. His research interests include labor, development and public economics and his work has been published in all the leading five general interest journals in economics. He is President-elect for the Royal Economic Society for 2024 (to serve as President in 2025), and Vice-President for the European Economic Association in 2024 (to serve as President-Elect in 2025 and President in 2026). In 2019 he was jointly awarded the Yrjö Jahnsson Award in Economics. He is an elected Fellow of the British Academy, the Academy of Social Sciences and the Econometric Society. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire for Services to Social Sciences in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2020.

Session 4: Plenary session: Think Tanks

Prof Adam Crawford

Adam Crawford is Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice at the University of Leeds and Professor of Policing & Social Justice at the University of York. He is Co-Director of the ESRC Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre – a national investment in a programme of research and knowledge exchange involving 13 universities, 26 Co-Investigators and 38 formal project partners. The Centre aims to understand how vulnerabilities are produced, exacerbated and addressed by policing and explore how the police and other services can best work together to prevent and reduce vulnerabilities. Through public engagement research, it is also exploring what the public want from police and developing a minimum policing standard. He is a member of the Police Science Council, which provides independent advice to the National Police Chiefs’ Council in the UK on science, technology, analysis and research matters relevant to policing policy and operations. His research has focused on policing, crime prevention, urban security, restorative justice and victims of crime. Recently, his research has focused on both building the evidence base through mechanisms of co-production and translating research knowledge to effect change in frontline policing and community safety partnerships. He established and was the inaugural Director of the N8 Policing Research Partnership (N8 PRP, 2013-20); a collaboration between eight universities and policing partners in the north of England. He has recently concluded working on a European Commission Horizon 2020 project IcARUS: ‘Innovative Approaches to Urban Security’ (2020-24), for which he led the research that informed, and production of, the Review of The Changing Face of Urban Security Research that has informed the co-design and implementation of innovative approaches to urban security in the six partner cities. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and an Honorary Lifetime member of the British Society of Criminology.

Session 4: Plenary session: Think Tanks

Dr Stefanie Gustafsson

Dr Stefanie Gustafsson is an Associate Professor in Organisation Studies and Director of Studies for the MRes/PhD programme at the School of Management, University of Bath. She is also an Honorary Research Fellow at Bayes Business School. Stefanie studies professionals’ work and careers in professional organizations, organizational trust particularly during times of change, and uses qualitative research methods. At the moment, she is particularly interested in exploring dynamics of career immobility among paraprofessionals working in elite law firms (funded by the Economic and Social Research Council). Another project investigates how traditional professional organisations, particularly the Church of England, navigate times of change. She is an editorial board member for Human Relations and the Journal of Vocational Behaviour. Her works has been published in journals such as Organization Studies, Human Relations and the Journal of Vocational Behavior. She also cares about translating academic research for a practitioner audience and has written contributions for The Practice (Harvard Law School), BBC Worklife and The Telegraph.

Session 4: Plenary session: Think Tanks

Professor Paul Taylor

Professor Paul Taylor became the first Police Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) on 1 May 2021, with a remit to connect science and technology expertise both in the UK and globally to keep policing at the forefront of best practice. The role of the Police CSA is to guide critical strategies, policies and decisions, helping police to protect millions of people.

Paul is a Professor of Psychology at Lancaster University, Professor of Human Interaction at the University of Twente, and founding director of the UK Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST). Established in 2015, CREST has brought together over 140 researchers from 35 universities and SMEs to deliver research that informs policy and practice in security and policing.

Over his career Professor Taylor has contributed science advice to a number of high-profile police investigations in the UK and overseas. In 2005 he received a Metropolitan Police Service Commissioner Commendation for his contributions.

Session 5: Plenary session: Data, science, technology and law enforcement

The Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson DBE MP

The Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson DBE was appointed Minister of State in the Home Office on 8 July 2024.

She was elected as the MP for Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham at the general election in July 2024 and has represented Hull North, as Hull’s first female MP, since May 2005.

Diana was Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee from 2021 until 2024.

Under the Labour government between 2005 and 2010 Diana was a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Children, Schools and Families and a government whip.

Between 2010 and 2015 Diana held a number of front bench roles including in the shadow Home Office team.

She was named backbencher of the year in 2018 for her work to secure a public inquiry into the NHS contaminated blood scandal.

Diana was appointed as a Commissioner on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in 2019.

In 2020 Diana received a Damehood for her political and charitable work.

Session 5: Plenary session: Data, science, technology and law enforcement

Lee Freeman, KPM

Lee Freeman, KPM, was appointed as His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire Rescue Service in August 2023.

Lee studied and graduated from Kingston University, before joining the police, where his first posting was with the City of London Police in 1993.

Following a transfer to Lincolnshire Police in 1996, Lee was successful in gaining a place on the Accelerated Promotion Scheme in 2000. In 2005, he was promoted to the rank of Superintendent.

In 2008, a secondment to Lincolnshire County Council, as an Assistant Director, saw him responsible for Trading Standards, Drug Alcohol Action, Youth Offending Service and the Safer Communities teams, before returning to Lincolnshire Police on promotion as a Divisional Commander for South, West and then as Head of Local Policing for the force.

In 2013, following an 18-month spell as the Assistant Chief Constable (Local Policing) in Lincolnshire, Lee fulfilled a long-held ambition in 2015 by joining his home force of Humberside, when he was appointed as their Assistant Chief Constable.

In May 2017, with Humberside Police in ‘special measures’, Lee was appointed the Chief Constable. During this time, Lee quickly led the force out of engagement, and within 10 months, secured Good grades across the board in their HMICFRS PEEL inspection.

In 2022, at their next inspection, Humberside were awarded the highest set of results in the country, achieving 6 Outstanding and 2 Good grades in their 2022 HMICFRS PEEL inspection.

Alongside his regular policing work, Lee has held several National Police Chief Council portfolios, including ASB, Records Management. He was one of the founding Director’s at Bluelight Commercial Ltd, as well as being a member of the management committee for Police Sport UK.

In recognition for his work, Lee was awarded the King's Police Medal (KPM) in the 2023 New Year Honours list.

Lee was appointed as HM Inspector (HMI), at His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire Rescue Service in August 2023, joining the inspectorate directly from Humberside Police.

Session 5: Plenary session: Data, science, technology and law enforcement

Pete O’Doherty, Temporary Commissioner, City of London Police

Prior to joining the City of London Police (CoLP) in January 2022 as Assistant Commissioner, Pete was Assistant Chief Constable at Thames Valley Police (TVP) where he was the South East Regional Lead for Counter Terrorism, and Serious and Organised Crime. Pete had performed this role since July 2019 after graduating from the Strategic Command Course in March 2019. In this role, Pete worked to the Chief Officer Management Boards across Thames Valley, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent.

After graduating from the University of Nottingham with a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science, Pete started his career with the CoLP where he spent a number of years at different ranks as a detective working across volume, major and specialist crime. Pete went on to specialise in cyber and economic crime, and was, later in his service, seconded into the Metropolitan Police Service as the Head of Uniformed Operations at the London Borough of Newham.

In 2017, Pete returned to the CoLP as Detective Chief Superintendent, Head of Crime and Counter Terrorism, and then went on to lead the CoLP’s Economic Crime Directorate that acts as the National Lead Force for fraud on behalf of UK policing. Throughout his career Pete has worked extensively across government and across sectors to significantly improve the local, regional and national response to cyber and economic crime. In 2018, Pete won the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s prestigious ‘40 under 40’ award for his work in this field.

Pete is also an experienced Gold Public Order Commander and Strategic Firearms Commander with multi-force experience, previously a Hostage and Crises Negotiator, and currently the national policing lead for Special Branch reform, Intellectual Property Crime, and Controlled Drugs Liaison Officers.

In October 2023, Pete took on the role of Temporary Commissioner of the City of London Police and is now the National Police Lead for Cyber and Economic Crime.

Session 5: Plenary session: Data, science, technology and law enforcement

Nicolle Ndiweni-Roberts

Nicolle Ndiweni-Roberts was elected as Derbyshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner in May 2024 and currently serves as one of the APCC Leads for Economic and Cyber Crime. Their portfolio focuses on addressing critical issues such as online crime, harassment, fraud, hacking, economic crime, and identity theft.

Nicolle holds a degree in Criminology and International Relations from the University of Lincoln. Prior to her role as PCC, she worked as a Business Expansion Specialist in Inward Investment, where she supported a diverse range of high-growth SMEs and global businesses, helping them navigate and accelerate their expansion plans. Her extensive experience spans both the public and private sectors, having served as a District Councillor with a cabinet portfolio for Safer and Stronger Communities until 2019. This has equipped her with a deep understanding of the challenges facing communities today, particularly in light of resource pressures on policing and the public sector as a whole.

A strong advocate for public-private partnerships, Nicolle recognises the importance of collaboration in delivering effective solutions in both the physical and digital world we live in. As Vice Chair and Women's Representative on Labour's East Midlands Regional Board, and a East Midlands Representative on Labour’s National Policy Forum, she understands the transformative power of policies that shape communities for the better.

Nicolle is also a Member of the Nova Education Trust, a cross-phase Multi-Academy Trust that educates over 10,000 pupils. Through this role and engagements with schools and colleges across Derbyshire, she is deeply invested in promoting online safety for young people, parents and families. Additionally, as a former member of a Digital Data and Technology Advisory Board, she has worked closely with universities, local government, and professional services to attract and retain tech talent in the region. She now sits on the East Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre board, contributing to efforts in strengthening the region’s cybersecurity infrastructure, education and support offer for individuals, schools and businesses.

Session 5: Plenary session: Data, science, technology and law enforcement

Dr Alexander (Sacha) Babuta

Dr Alexander Babuta is Director of the Centre for Emerging Technology and Security, and Director of National Security and Policy at The Alan Turing Institute – the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence (AI). He oversees a multidisciplinary research team focusing on a range of technology and security issues.

Alexander previously worked within the UK Government as AI Futures Lead at the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, and before this as Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), where he led the institute's research on national security, technology and digital policing. He has given evidence to various parliamentary inquiries and his work has featured in numerous mainstream media outlets.

He is Honorary Lecturer in Crime Science at University College London (UCL), and was previously Chair of the Essex Police Data Ethics Committee, Research Associate at the National Centre for Gang Research (University of West London), and Associate Fellow at the University of Bristol. He holds a Doctorate in Policing, Crime and Security, an MSc in Crime Science and a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics.

Session 5: Plenary session: Data, science, technology and law enforcement

Chief Constable Charlie Hall QPM

Charlie is the Chief Constable for Hertfordshire Constabulary and was appointed to the role in October 2016, moving into the county from his previous home in Norfolk. Nationally, Charlie chairs the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Operations Co-ordination Committee. He is the NPCC lead for the Manchester Arena Inquiry, ANPR, Civil Contingencies and the policing of industrial disputes. He is also the Senior Responsible Police Officer for the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme. Charlie holds a first-class degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and a degree in Management from DeMontfort University.

Session 6: Lightning Talks

Detective Inspector Grant Bennett

Detective Inspector Grant Bennett is an accomplished law enforcement professional with an eye of incorporating innovational projects into policing. A distinguished 20-year career with Herts Constabulary that spreads across a range of uniformed and detective roles. Grant has help design and implement a range of programmes that have been acclaimed both locally and nationally. Currently the forces Rapid Video Response lead and responsible for the operational delivery of the AI pilot in Herts, Grant has a relentless commitment to make policing more efficient and enhance service delivery to the communities we serve.

Session 6: Lightning Talks

Matthew Scott

Matthew has been Kent’s PCC since 2016. He is currently co-Lead for the APCC on Workforce and was previously Chair of BlueLight Commercial. His work as PCC has been focussed on citizen engagement, data analysis and effective solutions to local problems. Operation Voice is his third big data exercise, having previously undertaken in depth work on violence against women and girls and violent crime, which have led to new strategies and support for victims of crime. He has also worked in partnership with external agencies on mental health demand, road safety and serious violence. He is currently working on Smartphone Free Schools and the impact of social media on young people.

Session 6: Lightning Talks

Asad Razzaq MBE

Asad Razzaq is a dedicated police officer with West Yorkshire Police and the founder of CATCH (Community Action To Create Hope), a registered charity in Leeds. With extensive experience in response, neighbourhood, and counter-terrorism prevent policing, Asad has pioneered an innovative model to build trust and confidence in the police by empowering young people and communities in Harehills, one of the UK’s most deprived areas.

CATCH’s proactive approach diverts young people from crime by engaging them in skill-building, volunteering, and educational programmes that address core vulnerabilities such as school exclusions and NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) status. Asad’s role in establishing strategic partnerships with education providers, local authorities, businesses, and community organisations has fostered a collaborative framework that promotes safety and community cohesion while addressing complex social challenges. This model, bolstered by his hands-on leadership, has earned CATCH national recognition, including awards such as the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the Howard League’s Policing and Children Award, and the ‘Best Place for Children and Young People’ by Child Friendly Leeds. Furthermore, CATCH’s achievements have been commended by recent Ofsted, PEEL, and JTAI inspections evidencing community resilience, strong alternatives to crime and re-engagement in education.

Asad created an opportunity to transform a disused police modular building from Wakefield into a thriving hub for young people in Leeds. Overcoming significant challenges, he rallied local volunteers and businesses to create a vibrant centre featuring a community café, gym, partnership hub, training facilities, an off-site education provision, and a growing urban farm, all of which provide crucial safe spaces and growth opportunities for young people and the wider community. More than 1500 young people are actively involved with CATCH, supported by over 150 dedicated volunteers who collectively contribute more than 20,000 hours of volunteer work each year.

Beyond overseeing CATCH’s daily operations, Asad develops programmes that empower and support young people. His innovative role requires him to step away from a traditional policing career, committing the police to fund a collaborative partnership by seconding him to lead CATCH. He works closely with education partners and coordinates initiatives within the Leeds Learning Alliance, a consortium focused on inclusive practice. Under his leadership, CATCH has experienced year-on-year growth, maximising grant funding, sponsorship, and donation opportunities.

Asad's work inspires significant policy interest and sets a replicable standard for positive police-community collaboration nationwide, paving the way for a new approach to youth work and social action. Recognised with an MBE in 2016 for services to young people and the community, his contributions continue to impact Leeds and serve as a model for communities across the UK.

Session 6: Lightning Talks

Rachel Lawson

Rachel Lawson started her career in 1998 as a Probation Service Officer where she was a specialist in female offender behaviour. With this grounding in the criminal justice system she has a wealth of knowledge that supports her practice as a trainer in the areas of Domestic Abuse, Vulnerability, Sexual Offences and sexual harassment. She has worked as a Project Coordinator with the Northumbria OPCC since 2014 and continues to contribute to tackling a wide range of crime issues dealt with across the Violence Reduction Unit.

Session 6: Lightning Talks

Mark Harding

I joined ACRO Criminal Records Office as the head of continuous improvement in November 2023. I manage a fantastic team of police staff, together we’re responsible for optimising processes and utilising technology to support effective and efficient delivery of ACRO’s services to policing and wider law enforcement, non-police agencies and the public. I moved to ACRO from the Civil Service, Office for National Statistics, where I was the project manager on a systems development programme within economic statistics and a business change manager helping to deliver and embed systems development and process efficiency – all areas that provided great experience and helped me build skills that are beneficial in my current role.

ACRO is hosted by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary who were my employer for 18 years. In 2003 I joined the Force Control Room as a communications controller before a three-year stint with Intelligence as a communications data investigator followed by a promotion to covert authorities manager. A return to Contact Management in 2017 saw me running a project to diversify the front counter provision at police stations across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Thames Valley to improve the department’s ability to meet the growing online demand through the 101 portal. I returned to my 999/101 roots by managing the busy Contact Centre in Southampton Central, not long after a new command and control system had been introduced.

I’m thrilled to be back in the world of policing and very much enjoy being part of a team delivering innovation and positive change.

Session 6: Lightning Talks

Tom Mason

Tom is a seasoned professional with over 25 years’ experience spanning the retail industry and more latterly, the policing sector with ACRO Criminal Records Office, with a background marked by expertise in service development, strategic design, and performance enhancement.

During his time in retail, Tom mastered the intricacies of customer engagement, operational efficiency and the continuous improvement of service delivery. He held multiple leadership roles in major retail organisations. From overseeing frontline teams to implementing enterprise-wide operational strategies, he played a key role in driving revenue growth and improving the bottom line.

Moving from retail into the world of policing, Tom took on a series of roles that demonstrated his adaptability, working with partners both nationally and overseas. Through this work, he has contributed to the development and implementation of systems that streamline access to criminal information, improving both speed and security for stakeholders at home and abroad.

Currently, Tom continues to leverage his experience to drive strategic initiatives and performance improvement. An advocate for evidence-based decision-making, he remains committed to refining and expanding the tools and strategies that facilitate effective information sharing and operational success.

Session 6: Lightning Talks

Julian Fletcher

Julian joined ACRO Criminal Records Office in September 2022 as the organisation’s third Chief Executive.

A Senior Civil Servant by background with over 25 years’ experience working across government he has spent the majority of his career at the Home Office, as well as roles with the Cabinet Office and service overseas at the British Embassy in Tokyo.

Law enforcement has been a recurring theme throughout. Julian previously led the Home Office team responsible for global extradition and information exchange, foreign criminality and international legal assistance, working closely with the NCA, NPCC, CPS, ACRO and HM Courts Service to develop multi-agency partnerships and he has represented the UK leading delegations to a number of global law enforcement G7 events.

As Head of Operations for the Grenfell Tower public inquiry he had strategic responsibility for all aspects of the inquiry’s smooth running, finance and contractual arrangements, and he led the team that made the case for increased investment in police resources, including the police officer uplift. Julian spent the earlier part of his career in immigration enforcement where he set up the first joint police-immigration criminal investigations team prosecuting organised immigration crime across London and he developed, delivered and implemented immigration policy and legislation under successive administrations.

In addition to his role as ACRO’s Chief Executive Julian is also the NPCC lead for Foreign National Offenders, a strand of the NPCC International Criminality Portfolio led by DCC Pete Ayling.

Outside work Julian is an outdoors enthusiast and keen hiker and he has climbed all.

Session 6: Lightning Talks

Dr Zachary Goldberg

Zachary Goldberg, PhD, leads work at Trilateral Research translating ethical principles and ethical standards into practical steps to achieve sustainable impact and responsible innovation. He oversees and carries out both responsible AI services for our public and private sector clients and ethics-by-design processes for our ethical AI products.

In 2023, Zachary and his team completed the report, “Core Principles and Opportunities for Responsible and Trustworthy AI” funded by BridgeAI. This report identifies innovation gaps, market opportunities as well as advancements in regulations and standards for the UK to continue to secure its place as a leader in responsible AI. Zachary has been the ethics lead for products and research innovation projects in law enforcement including: CESIUM – an AI application to combat child sexual and criminal exploitation; Project IRON – an AI application funded by DASA to advance data analytics insights into organised crime group mapping; D4FLY – a Horizon 2020 project to develop multimodal biometric verification of travellers at border crossings.

Zachary has also provided ethics research, discovery, advising and foresight planning to: College of Policing (UK), Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group (UK) The Alan Turing Institute (UK); AI Standards Hub (UK); Centre of Data Ethics and Innovation (UK); European Reference Network for Critical Infrastructure Protection thematic group on Early Warning Zones and Artificial Intelligence (EU); FRONTEX (EU); United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI); and numerous other public and private sector organisations. He served on the Ethics Advisory Committee for Digital Catapult (UK) and gave a TEDx talk on the ethics of technology at TEDxKassel.

Zachary is the author of over 20 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Recent titles include: “Translating Ethical Theory into Ethical Action: An Ethic of Responsibility Approach to Value-Oriented Design,” Communications in Computer and Information Science vol. 1382; “How SMEs Ought to Operationalize AI Risk Assessments Under the AI Act”, IAIL Proceedings, 2023.

Session 7: Breakout one (Churchill room) – Deepfakes, powered by AI

Alex Murray OBE

Alex Murray has been a senior investigating officer and has experience within Counter Terrorism and intelligence. In 2008 he obtained a Masters from Cambridge University, with a thesis that developed the understanding of police legitimacy within Muslim communities. He has been a specialist firearms, public order and CT commander. He was temporary ACC Crime in West Midlands for three years leading crime investigations, forensics, criminal justice and intelligence. He then became Commander, Specialist Crime in the Met leading on specialisms from cyber, human trafficking and OCSET through to Economic Crime and the Organised Crime Partnership. In 2021/2022 he led on violence in London in response to heightened levels of teenage homicide. He has been the Chief Constable (Temp) of West Mercia Police delivering a people-led, tech-enabled, crime fighting vision of policing and is now Director Threat Leadership at the National Crime Agency. He is also the UK Policing lead for artificial intelligence.

He is the founder of the Society of Evidence Based Policing, has introduced randomised control trials into policing, sparking numerous collaborations. He has worked on police training programmes in India, Cambodia and Europe. In 2017 he was awarded an OBE.

Session 7: Breakout one (Churchill room) – Deepfakes, powered by AI

Jonathan Evison

Jonathan Evison is the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for the Humberside Police force area, a role he was re-elected to in 2024. He serves a four-year term of office, the next election is in 2028.

Jonathan served as a ward councillor on North Lincolnshire Council for eleven years, he was Chair of the Humberside Police and Crime Panel for six years and had other roles within the Council including Ambassador for Steel and Heavy Industry, Vice Chair of Planning, scrutiny chairs and Mayor for two years. In addition Jonathan served his community as a Barton Town Councillor for eighteen years.

His priorities as PCC are: -

• More visible policing on the streets; making sure they are professionally trained and motivated to protect the public and bring offenders to justice.
• More initiatives to tackle drugs and antisocial behaviour while maintaining strong support for victims of crime.
• Fair policing to tackle rural, coastal and urban crime.
• Introduce more technology to help make our roads safer and reduce casualties.

Session 7: Breakout one (Churchill room) – Deepfakes, powered by AI

Rachel Tuffin OBE

Rachel is interim Director of the College's new Centre for Police Productivity. The Centre will support forces to harness the potential of data, innovation and technology to free up officer and staff hours so they can be reinvested in high-impact activity.

Since its announcement in April 2024, Rachel has worked with forces and national partners to establish the Centre’s ambition and workstreams, and to get delivery underway on early priorities, such as sifting over 600 policing innovations to select those with the highest potential for implementation support on the ground.

Before taking up her role at the Centre, Rachel led the College’s Works Centre for Crime Reduction, where she was responsible for creating and sharing knowledge and good practice across policing. She previously led knowledge and research teams in the Home Office and National Policing Improvement Agency. She has published on issues ranging from neighbourhood policing, career progression and leadership to race hate, recruitment and flexible working. Her OBE was awarded in 2013 for services to policing, championing evidence-based policing.

Session 7: Breakout two (Gielgud room) – Measurement of productivity and performance

Alex Lowe

Having achieved a BA Hons. from Bristol University, Alex Lowe began his career in the automotive industry with Land Rover including a brief period in their North American operation. Taking responsibility for the brand’s early online presence, Alex began a career-long engagement with technology transitioning through start-up organisations to large multi-nationals. Prior to joining Axon, he led multiple teams within Google UK covering a diversity of industries and markets. Alex is also a Non-Executive Director to a tech start up that encourages young people to participate in sport. He is based in London UK with his wife and two daughters.

Session 7: Breakout two (Gielgud room) – Measurement of productivity and performance

Sarah Taylor

Sarah’s nearly 25 years in transport and engineering led to a national role in road safety. As an advocate for the Safe System approach to preventing road deaths and serious injuries, she has worked with a range of partners across the UK to make our roads safer. She is looking to bring a similarly preventative and proactive approach to crime and policing in Norfolk as Police and Crime Commissioner.

Session 7: Breakout two (Gielgud room) – Measurement of productivity and performance

Bethan Page Jones

Bethan has spent over 15 years working in policing. As a career civil servant who has spanned spending reviews, bill management, strategy roles and private office work, she was seconded to the National Policing Improvement Agency where he headed up work on value for money in policing. Following that she spent many years in HMICFRS, inspecting police efficiency, police effectiveness and the police response to domestic abuse. She returned to the Home Office to work in policing policy and ensuring the Home Office is commissioning the capabilities needed to deliver its policing, public protection and crime reduction agenda. She is currently the SRO for the National ANPR system and enrolled on the Major Projects Leadership Academy and is responsible for improving police data and working with policing and other partners to improve productivity and deliver cashable efficiency savings.

Session 7: Breakout two (Gielgud room) – Measurement of productivity and performance

Chief Constable Scott Chilton

Chief Constable Scott Chilton leads Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, one of the largest police forces in the UK, having previously served as Chief Constable in Dorset. He has over 32 years’ experience in policing and law enforcement, with extensive international policing experience including in India, Europe and Asia. As one of the most experienced Chief Constables, Scott has a number of national roles where he leads for policing. He is chair of the NPCC Performance Management coordination committee and is committed to a thorough review of how performance is managed across UK policing as well as holding the HMICFRS liaison role for NPCC. Scott is also the NPCC lead for investigations and he leads nationally on public order tactics, training and equipment.

Session 7: Breakout two (Gielgud room) – Measurement of productivity and performance

Katherine Kent

Katherine has been leading on improved methods for measuring public services productivity since Summer 2023, when it was announced that ONS was to lead on a cross government review of Public Services Productivity.

Katherine is chief operational research analyst and has worked for ONS for 15 years, covering various economic statistics topics related to the UK National Accounts and Productivity.

Session 7: Breakout two (Gielgud room) – Measurement of productivity and performance

Chief Constable Paul Sanford QPM

Paul Sanford has served in Norfolk Constabulary throughout his policing career. Paul joined in 1999, starting as a response office in Sprowston, and then held a variety of uniform and detective roles in all ranks, from Constable to Superintendent.

Promoted to Superintendent in 2008, Paul has held a number of posts including District Commander for South Norfolk, District Commander in Norwich, and Head of CID. Paul is an experienced firearms and public order commander, and has also been the Senior Investigating Officer on several significant criminal investigations.

Paul spent three years coordinating the activity of the National Police Chief's Council Violence and Public Protection Portfolio. During this period, Paul was the Police lead for the implementation and rollout of the national Child Abuse Image Database (CAID).

In April 2017, Paul was appointed as Assistant Chief Constable for Local Policing in Norfolk Police and in 2019 was appointed Deputy Chief Constable. He later became Chief Constable in December 2021. Paul is Chair of the NPCC Finance Coordination Committee and Chair of the Athletics Section of PSUK.

Having lived in Norfolk for all but a few years of his life, Paul has a passion for the County and policing. When not at work, Paul enjoys spending time with his wife and children and can often be found either watching sport or on a long-distance run.

Session 7: Breakout three (Burton and Redgrave rom) – Financial resilience

Hamza Yusuf

Hamza is a Director at Deloitte focussed on the financial and commercial challenges faced by security and justice clients. He brings c. 15 years’ of experience working in government and public sector organisations across central, local and regional government. Hamza has led corporate finance teams as a senior civil servant and Finance Director administering multi-billion-pound budgets. He is a qualified accountant and fellow at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

Session 7: Breakout three (Burton and Redgrave rom) – Financial resilience

Roger Hirst

Roger Hirst was first elected as the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex in May 2016 and has since been elected for a third term in May 2024. He became the first Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner in the country in October 2017.

Roger’s core belief that safe and secure communities are the bedrock on which we build well-being and prosperity for all, remains central to his vision for making Essex safer. A strong advocate of prevention, partnership and people, Roger has worked hard to build a foundation of collaborative working between emergency services, local authorities, councils, the voluntary sector and communities in Essex, believing we can do more and achieve more together.

A long-standing member of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioner’s Board and Finance Lead for Police and Crime Commissioner’s nationally, Roger led the successful campaign to secure additional funding for policing and achieved the target of recruiting an additional 905 Essex Police officers in March 2023, making the force the biggest in its 185-year history.

Over the next four years Roger’s ambition is to see crime cut by 40 per cent in Essex through continuing investment in local policing, using data driven activity to target known hotspots and providing early intervention to identify and protect vulnerable people.

Prior to his election as Commissioner, Roger was Cabinet Member at Essex County Council with responsibility for Community Safety. He was also Deputy Leader of Brentwood Borough Council and has 33 years’ experience as a senior investment banker.

Mr Hirst became the first Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner in October 2017 and continues to work nationally and locally to build stronger links between emergency services and help create more secure communities.

Prior to his election as Commissioner, Mr. Hirst was Cabinet Member at Essex County Council with responsibility for Community Safety; Deputy Leader of Brentwood Borough Council; and has 33 years’ experience as a senior investment banker.

Session 7: Breakout three (Burton and Redgrave rom) – Financial resilience

Lianne Deeming, Chief Executive Officer

Lianne is an engineer by background with more than 30 years’ experience in the steel industry with British Steel, Corus and Tata Steel Europe in operational, technical and commercial roles. The senior leadership roles Lianne held whilst working in steel involved large transformational change, cultural management and customer focus programmes across Europe, involving many different sites and legal entities.

Whilst Chief Procurement Officer she developed a category and regional management approach enabled by a “Journey to Procurement Excellence” More recently Lianne set her own company providing a business and technical consulting service; focussing on additive manufacturing, decarbonisation and setting up of new organisations. As Chief Executive Officer of BlueLight Commercial Lianne looks to develop a commercially focussed, “Go To”, agile organisation that is aligned to the Policing 2025 vision, driving Commercial excellence for the function, developing a full Commercial Lifecycle Model approach and provide innovative solutions to key issues such as supply chain risk.

Session 7: Breakout three (Burton and Redgrave rom) – Financial resilience

Oliver Lodge

Oliver Lodge is the Director responsible for Value for Money audits of the Home Office at the National Audit Office, a position he has held since August 2021. In this time he has led a broad range of work covering asylum, policing, the passport office and cross cutting issues such as the government’s response to the harm from fraud and illegal drugs. Prior to taking up his current position he led the National Audit Office’s work on the Ministry of Justice and its Arm’s Length Bodies.

Session 7: Breakout three (Burton and Redgrave rom) – Financial resilience

Pooja and Nikita Kanda

Ronan Kanda was a beautiful 16-year-old boy with his whole life ahead of him he was the soul of our family and every mother's dream son. We adored him. Following the court proceedings in May 2023, we launched the Justice for Ronan Kanda campaign, advocating for a ban on the online sale of lethal-bladed weapons, including the ninja sword that tragically pierced our beloved boy's heart Our mission is to prevent other families from experiencing such heartbreak and correcting the failures that led Ronan's death.

Session 8: In conversation with.…Knife Crime

Faron Paul

Paul is a resilient advocate against knife crime and a compelling voice for social change. Having survived the traumatic experience of being stabbed 18 times, Faron transformed his personal pain into a powerful purpose. He founded FAZAMNESTY, a charitable organisation dedicated to removing knives from the streets and encouraging individuals to give up their weapons with minimal resistance. His pragmatic approach highlights the cost-effectiveness of his initiatives compared to the devastating consequences of knife violence.

In recognition of his impactful work, Faron became a part of the Prime Minister's coalition on tackling violent crime, where he collaborates with policymakers and community leaders to shape national strategies for reducing knife violence. His role in this coalition has amplified his advocacy, bringing firsthand insight to high-level discussions and helping to create practical, community-focused solutions. Through his tireless efforts, widespread media appearances, and government involvement, Faron has become a beacon of hope, working to create safer communities and inspire others to join the fight against knife crime.

Session 8: In conversation with.…Knife Crime

Judge Anuja Dhir KC

Her Honour Judge Anuja Dhir KC was called to the Bar in 1989 by Gray’s Inn and was awarded a Gray’s Inn scholarship. Anuja was elected a Master of the Bench in 2009 and took silk in 2010. Anuja has invested her time to support various aspects of the Inn’s Education programme including delivering advocacy training. She has also previously held positions as the Inn’s Master of Debates, Master of Students and Masters of Outreach.

Anuja practised as a barrister for 23 years mainly in crime, and from 2007 as a special advocate in national security cases. She was the first non-white judge to be appointed to the Old Bailey in 2017.

Session 8: In conversation with.…Knife Crime

Prof Sir Jonathan Van-Tam MBE

Jonathan Van-Tam is a public health specialist with a clinical background in emergency medicine, anaesthesia, and infectious diseases. He is an expert on respiratory viruses and pandemics and is currently Pro Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Medicine, and Health Sciences, at the University of Nottingham. His career has also taken him to Public Health England, the World Health Organization, and the pharmaceutical and vaccine industries. Jonathan was seconded to the Department of Health and Social Care as Deputy Chief Medical Officer. He is wellknown for his leadership role during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly his straight, no-nonsense, communication style from the podium at number ten Downing Street, and for the acquisition and rollout of vaccines and antiviral drugs in the UK. After stepping down as Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England he returned to the University of Nottingham as its Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Medicine & Health Sciences. He has also taken on a part time role advising vaccine manufacturer Moderna. Jonathan received a knighthood from Her Majesty the Queen in her New Year’s Honours List, for services to public health. He has also been awarded the Royal Society’s Attenborough Award and Lecture for outstanding public engagement in science.

Rt Hon Chris Philp MP

Chris Philp was Minister of State in the Home Office between 26 October 2022 and 5 July 2024.

He was Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office between 14 October 2022 and 25 October 2022.

He was previously appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 6 September 2022 to 14 October 2022.

He was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport between 17 September 2021 and 7 July 2022.

He was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office and Ministry of Justice from 13 February 2020 to 16 September 2021.

Before that, he was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice from 10 September 2019 to 18 December 2019 and Minister for London at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government from 18 December 2019 to 13 February 2020.

Session 10: Keynote Address

Stephen Russell

Stephen Russell, Director of Data, Strategy, and Technology for Warwickshire Police joined policing in 2018. He leads Digital Services, Change & Transformation, Analysis & Performance, and Information Assurance, supporting the force’s ambition to harness the full potential of technology and data. Stephen is responsible for setting strategy, driving innovation, and implementing new ways of working during a pivotal time for the organization. Additionally, he sits on the Performance Management Coordination Committee, leading professionalisation and planning efforts across the force.

Session 11: Lightning Talks

Jane Mudd

Jane Mudd is the elected Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent. First elected to this role in May 2024, Jane is a member of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) and represents Gwent OPCC on the Policing in Wales board. She is the Policing in Wales PCC lead for partnerships and community safety and the joint lead for substance misuse. Jane is the Co-chair of the Wales Safer Communities Board and is also a national APCC deputy lead for substance misuse.

Session 11: Lightning Talks

Assistant Chief Constable Nick McLain

Assistant Chief Constable Nick McLain has worked at Gwent Police since 1996. His background is primarily in uniformed policing. He currently holds the ACC portfolio for Resources and is force lead for Culture and Conduct matters.

Session 11: Lightning Talks

David Jackson

David Jackson is the strategic artificial intelligence lead at the NPCC’s Digital Public Contact Programme. Before retiring as a police officer David was a Chief Superintendent at the Metropolitan Police Service and led the Contact, Command and Control services, including a number of transformational change programmes. He began his police service in 1990 with Nottinghamshire Police as a contact advisor.

Session 11: Lightning Talks

Temporary Detective Chief Inspector James Gray

T/DCI James Gray joined Essex Police as a Police Community Support Officer in 2008, before joining as a constable in 2015. He spent his first few years within the response team, before taking the leap into the Detective career pathway in 2017, joining CID. The following years saw him work through a variety of different roles at different ranks, mainly within the Crime and Public Protection Command.

This included:

• As a Detective Sergeant in within the Management of Sexual and Violent Offenders (MOSOVO),
• As a Detective Inspector in charge of the Mental Health Prevention Team and Missing Person Prevention Team and covering the adult sexual abuse and child abuse investigation teams.

Most recently T/DCI Gray has been leading the proactive teams since the start of 2024 as DCI within Crime and Public Protection, namely, MOSOVO, POLIT, MAPPA and the Proactive Orders Enforcement Team (POET), a team which he was involved in the creation of. T/DCI Gray has been involved in a number of different strategic projects across Essex, but the main one of note involves him performing the role of the Mental Health tactical lead for Essex Police since 2021, an area he is extremely passionate around. The officer is dedicated to ensuring officers and staff have access to the right clinical support, to assist them both personally, and to allow them to deliver the best level of service to the public.

Session 11: Lightning Talks

Detective Inspector Emma Portfleet

DI Emma Portfleet joined Essex police in 2006, working first on the community policing team, before moving into the response team. She embarked on the detective carer in 2008, working on the domestic abuse and hate crime unit. She first joined the Crime and Public Protection command in 2010, and other than a couple of years working in counter terrorism as a DC (2013 - 2015), her focus has been on public protection. DI Portfleet has worked in various child abuse investigation teams across Essex as a DC, DS and DI; the adult sexual assault investigation team as DS and DI; rape performance DI; embedded within the local CPS RASSO team; and Quest (historic child abuse investigations). Since 2022 she has been the Police Online Investigation Team (POLIT) DI, and has seen firsthand, not only how challenging the work is, but how rewarding it is too. Emma notes that the welfare of victims, suspects, their families as well as her officers and staff are what is important to her. Emma is a huge advocate for improving the welfare provisions within Essex POLIT, introducing annual wellbeing days, plants into the environment, welfare fish, tetris games and emergency toiletries (for males and females) in the rest rooms, but having the support of Sally and Louise, our embedded therapists has made the biggest difference.

Session 11: Lightning Talks

Mark Frost

Mark Frost is a CBT therapist, counsellor, EMDR practitioner, and clinical hypnotherapist with a wealth of experience in mental health services. For nearly 10 years, he has served as the Clinical Lead at Inclusion Thurrock, overseeing a comprehensive range of therapeutic services designed to support community mental health and well-being.

Since beginning his work in talking therapies in 2009, Mark has focused on innovation and client-centred care. Notably, he developed the initial specification for the POLIT project alongside former and serving officers and civilian staff. Mark was also the architect of a innovative service that provides psychological therapies for individuals who fall in the gap between primary and secondary care. This service won the HSJ Award for Primary Care Initiative of the Year in 2023, highlighting his ability to address critical service gaps with practical, compassionate solutions.

Session 11: Lightning Talks

Sally Ryall

Sally Ryall is a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist and an EMDR Therapist. She is currently one of two therapists working on behalf of the Police Online Investigation Team (POLIT) in Chelmsford, Essex and is employed by Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) as a senior psychotherapist. Sally holds a Bsc (hons) in Psychology, a post graduate advanced diploma in integrative counselling, a master practitioner diploma in eating disorders and Msc in RE-CBT from the University of London. She has experience of working in a number of clinical and forensic settings such as prisons, primary and secondary care mental health services, private hospitals and practice, educational settings and Essex Police. She has over 24 years’ experience as a psychotherapist. Her clinical interests and additional post graduate training has focussed on the treatment of anxiety disorders, personality disorders and complex mental-health needs, depression and eating disorders. For the past 10 years her work has been specialised in the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Session 11: Lightning Talks

Donna Jones

Donna was elected as Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in May 2021.

Donna was a Magistrate in Hampshire for sixteen years. This has helped her develop a strong background in criminal justice.  When she was appointed by the Lord Chancellor in October 2005, she was the youngest member of the judiciary in England and Wales.

From 2014-2018 Donna was the first woman to be elected the Leader of Portsmouth City council in Hampshire, presiding over a £780 million budget. She has a thorough understanding of managing public sector finances; of generating new income and removing wastage from outdated contracts ensuring your taxes are spent wisely.
In 2023, Donna joined the board of the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce as a non-executive director to help shape the Chamber's strategic growth as the county's independent voice of businesses.

In 2024, Donna was re-elected as Police and Crime Commissioner with a 70,000 majority. Donna was chair of the APCC until the September 2024.

Donna is Hampshire born and bred. Her professional background is in banking. She is married with two teenage sons.

Session 12: Breakout one (Churchill room) - Criminal justice

Chief Constable Rob Nixon QPM

Rob Nixon was appointed as Chief Constable in November 2022. He joined Leicestershire Police in 1993 and was appointed Assistant Chief Constable in April 2017, with responsibility for local policing, crime and intelligence and public protection, before being promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in February 2018.

As Assistant Chief Constable, Rob worked on collaborative projects across Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, and Nottinghamshire. From 2009 to 2014, he was also Chief Superintendent for the Leicester City Basic Command Unit.

In 2008 he was appointed as the Head of the Community Safety Bureau, and was responsible for the development of strategic partnerships, implementation of neighbourhood policing, anti-social behaviour, Offender Management and Counter Terrorism.

Rob was appointed as Detective Inspector in charge of the City CID in 2002, with responsibility for introducing the force approach to Offender Management.

Rob chairs the Leicestershire’s Local Criminal Justice Board, which brings together all local criminal justice agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the local criminal justice system. He also chairs of the Leicestershire Local Resilience Forum bringing together agencies in order to prepare for localised incidents and catastrophic emergencies.

Rob was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal (QPM) in December 2020 as part of the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list.

In April 2023 Rob was appointed to the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) lead for Criminal Justice and chairs the national Criminal Justice Coordination Committee. He works on behalf of policing with the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, Number 10 Delivery Unit, CPS and the courts service and is a member of the National Criminal Justice Board. In May 2023 he was appointed to be a member of the Sentencing Council and represents policing on the Criminal Justice Rules Committee.

Outside of policing Rob is a keen pilot, skier and enjoys cycling to keep fit.

Session 12: Breakout one (Churchill room) - Criminal justice

Nick Price

Nick started his career as a Barrister prosecuting and defending criminal cases. He spent three years working for the Criminal Cases Review Commission, and subsequently joined the CPS in 2002. After management positions in CPS Hampshire, Staffordshire and West Midlands, Nick was appointed as temporary Chief Crown Prosecutor of CPS North Wales in 2011.

In 2012 Nick became Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor of CPS West Midlands where he was responsible for the Crown Court division of the Area. In 2014, Nick was appointed Chief Crown Prosecutor of the Proceeds of Crime Division, subsequently transferring to become Chief Crown Prosecutor of the International Justice and Organised Crime Division in 2018. Nick transferred to head up the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division in May 2021 and became Interim Director of Legal Services in May 2024.

Session 12: Breakout one (Churchill room) - Criminal justice

Chris Jennings

Chris joined HMPPS in January 2019 as Executive Director for HMPPS Wales. From the 2nd October 2023, Chris moved into his current role as the Executive Director for HMPPS South West, South Central with responsibility for prison and probation services across this area (covering 7 police force areas) alongside a national responsibility for Public Protection. He has worked in the Ministry of Justice for almost 20 years in a broad range of roles including operational, programme management, corporate and more strategic roles. The majority of his senior level experience has been in leading large-scale operations in Courts, Tribunals and HMPPS and delivering change into these operational environments.

Session 12: Breakout one (Churchill room) - Criminal justice

Annette So

Annette joined the Criminal Justice Alliance (CJA) as its first Deputy Director in May 2021 and was appointed Director in April 2024.

Annette was previously Deputy Director at The Death Penalty Project where she was responsible for organisational development including strategic planning, fundraising, financial management and charity governance, as well as leading on criminal justice reform projects across different jurisdictions.

Annette started her career as a solicitor at Allen & Overy LLP and holds a Master of Laws from Columbia University, New York.

She is a Clore Social Leadership Fellow and is currently Co-Chair of Board of Trustees at Hibiscus Initiatives, a member of the CJA.

Session 12: Breakout one (Churchill room) - Criminal justice

Matt Jukes QPM

Matt Jukes QPM is the Head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) and a member of the Metropolitan Police Service’s Management Board as Assistant Commissioner (Specialist Operations). He has held this role since July 2021.

His responsibilities span countering threats from domestic and international terrorism and the protection of the Royal Family, Ministers and Parliament. He oversaw the CTP investigation into the murder of Sir David Amess MP and contributed to security at the funeral of HM The Queen and HM The King’s Coronation. Most recently, this has seen him lead the responses to the recent conflicts in Ukraine and Middle East.

He is the national policing lead on national security policing, and has led through a four-fold increase in operations emanating from espionage, foreign interference and war crimes in the last three years. His leadership includes membership of the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group.

Matt joined policing in 1995 and first started working in counter terrorism in 2001, going on to advise the UK law enforcement delegation to the G8 and undertaking operational duties as a CT Commander. Security and intelligence have been recurring themes of his career, woven into periods of territorial police command, including as the Chief Constable of South Wales Police where he championed workforce wellbeing and diversity.

Matt is a Patron of the Police Roll of Honour Trust and Visiting Professor in the School of Defence and Security at Cranfield University. He is an Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University and the University of Wales, Trinity St. David.

Session 12: Breakout two (Burton and Redgrave room) - Global to local impact of geo-politics

Graeme Biggar CBE

Graeme Biggar has led the National Crime Agency (NCA) since October 2021. The NCA is an intelligence-led law enforcement agency whose mission is to protect the public from serious and organised crime. It does that by leading the operational system response to ensure that police and law enforcement agencies are working together on the most significant threats, and by itself investigating and degrading the most harmful organised crime groups. The NCA also leads for UK policing on operational cooperation internationally.

Graeme initially joined the NCA in March 2019 as the Director General of the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), which is a collaborative, multi-agency centre established to deliver a step change in the response to fraud and money laundering.

Prior to the NCA, Graeme was the Director of National Security in the Home Office, Chief of Staff to the Defence Secretary in the Ministry of Defence and held a range of other senior Civil Service roles.

Graeme has a degree in History from Oxford University and a masters in International Security Studies from the Royal College of Defence Studies and Kings College London. He was awarded a CBE in 2019 in recognition of his services to national security.

Session 12: Breakout two (Burton and Redgrave room) - Global to local impact of geo-politics

Simon Foster

Simon Foster was elected as Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands in May 2021 and served until May 2024. He was then re-elected as PCC in May 2024 and will serve a four-year term. Simon commenced his career in the law 45 years ago and practiced as a legal aid solicitor for 35 years. He has worked in a community law centre and in private practice. He was a partner in a law firm for 22 years. He specialised in Housing and Public Law. As PCC, he has extensive and wide-ranging responsibilities regarding policing, crime, community safety, violence reduction, victim support services and criminal justice. In particular, he is responsible for preparing the regional Police and Crime Plan, setting the budget and policing precept and holding the Chief Constable and West Midlands Police to account, on behalf of the people and communities of the West Midlands. He is the Association of Police Crime Commissioners national lead for Counter-Terrorism, Chairs the National Counter-Terrorism Strategic Board and he is APCC Joint national lead for Serious Violence.

Session 12: Breakout two (Burton and Redgrave room) - Global to local impact of geo-politics

Dame Sara Khan DBE

Dame Sara Khan was the Government’s former Independent Adviser on social cohesion and resilience having been appointed by the Prime Minister in 2021. In March 2024 she published “The Khan Review” which examined threats to social cohesion and democratic resilience. The Review put forward a number of recommendations to the UK Government.

Between 2018-2021 Sara was appointed Britain’s first Counter-Extremism Commissioner responsible for leading the newly created Commission for Countering Extremism. Her publications included “Challenging Hateful Extremism” (2019) and the landmark review “Operating with Impunity: The need for a new legal framework” (2021) co-authored with Sir Mark Rowley.

In 2008 Sara co-founded and led the NGO Inspire, a women’s counter-extremism and gender equality organisation for a decade. Inspire worked in partnership with local authorities, government, schools, the Metropolitan police as well as community groups across the country. Inspire also delivered in-person and online counter-extremism campaigns which received international attention.

Session 12: Breakout two (Burton and Redgrave room) - Global to local impact of geo-politics

Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine

Vanessa Jardine is a highly experienced chief officer.

She was honoured to be named Chief Constable of Northumbria Police in April this year having previously spent time as a Force Temporary Assistant Chief Constable in 2016, when she became incredibly fond of the region and the wonderful communities here.

Vanessa’s policing career began in July 1994, when she joined Greater Manchester Police as a Police Constable.

During her time there, she served as a detective at almost every rank and was the Head of Public Protection. She was the Force’s lead for domestic abuse, child protection and child sexual exploitation and reached the rank of Temporary Assistant Chief Constable.

In May 2019, Vanessa became Assistant Chief Constable at West Midlands Police and was responsible for Local Policing before being promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in June 2020. During her career, she has led the response to many significant incidents, was a Strategic Firearms Commander, Public Gold Commander, and Strategic Multi-Agency Gold Incident Commander.

Vanessa is extremely passionate about diversity and inclusivity and alongside her role as Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, she is the National Police Chiefs’ (NPCC) Lead for LGBTQ+ as part of the NPCC Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Committee.

She is also the national lead for International Policing, chairing the NPCC International Coordination committee which oversees and coordinates the assistance that UK policing gives to other countries, both at home and abroad and most recently in June 2023 taken on the role of Co-Chair of Police Sport UK (PSUK).

Session 12: Breakout two (Burton and Redgrave room) - Global to local impact of geo-politics

Jonathan Ash-Edwards

Jonathan Ash-Edwards was elected as Police & Crime Commissioner in May 2024.

Highly committed to public service, Jonathan has a wide range of leadership, governance and financial experience.

Jonathan first got involved in politics in 2007 successfully campaigning against proposals by the then Government to close the hospital in the Sussex town in which he grew up.

This experience led him to serve in local government as a Councillor for 16 years, including as executive member for finance and then Council Leader. He chaired a high performing Community Safety Partnership for four years, giving him a significant insight into effective strategies for crime prevention and tackling anti-social behaviour.

Committed to education and opportunities for young people, Jonathan founded an education trust now responsible for the education of over 3,500 young people and has worked nationally to support effective school governance.

Alongside public service, Jonathan has also been a serial business builder, starting his first business at the age of 24 and has led a company delivering major projects to clients across a number of sectors.

Hertfordshire means a lot to Jonathan, meeting his partner here and he now lives in the county with his family.

As Police & Crime Commissioner, Jonathan’s priorities are to keep Hertfordshire safe, ensure that record numbers of police officers translate into visible and responsive local policing, tackle violence against women and girls and for more offenders to be brought to justice.

Since his election, Jonathan has launched Operation Hotspot, a £1m initiative to put additional high visibility police patrols into 26 hotspots of anti-social behaviour, crime and violence. He has also launched a new webcast Accountability & Performance Meeting so that the PCC’s statutory duty to hold the Chief Constable to account for policing performance is publicly transparent for the first time.

Jonathan has been appointed as the national lead PCC for crime prevention & children and young people.

Session 12: Breakout three (Gielgud room) - Prevention and partnerships

Baroness Newlove

As Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, Baroness Newlove is a champion for victims’ rights. Appointed in October 2023, she uses her voice to advocate for those impacted by crime. Her responsibilities include overseeing the implementation of the Victims’ Code, ensuring its effectiveness in supporting victims, and advising and holding government and other criminal justice agencies to account.

Baroness Newlove’s passion for championing victims stems from her personal experience. The tragic loss of her husband to violent crime fuelled her passion to advocate for stronger protections and better treatment for victims. During her first two terms as Victims’ Commissioner (2013-2019), she laid the groundwork to enshrine victims’ rights in law and led important reviews on anti-social behaviour, the Victim’s Code, and reforms to the Parole system. Baroness Newlove continues to be a powerful voice for victims, holding government and criminal justice agencies to account while advocating for a criminal justice system that delivers for victims.

Session 12: Breakout three (Gielgud room) - Prevention and partnerships

Dr James Dunn

From North-East of England originally, trained at University College London and been working in Emergency Medicine since 2003. Returned from Australia in 2015 where I had spent a period doing retrieval medicine in Queensland, before working as a locum Consultant in Emergency Medicine at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.

Took over as chair of the Violence Prevention Board in 2017 in Cardiff, first set up by Professor Jonathan Shepherd many years earlier. Am passionate about breaking down those barriers to information sharing that promote good partnership working across agencies. I work closely with many partners both statutory and third sector to reduce violence and improve working relationships, on issues ranging from violence to alcohol harm reduction.

I also lecture medical students at Cardiff University and respond via MedServe Wales for the Welsh Ambulance Service.

Session 12: Breakout three (Gielgud room) - Prevention and partnerships

Chief Constable Serena Kennedy KPM

Serena Kennedy began her career in Policing in 1993 with Greater Manchester Police having gained a degree in Applied Biology at the University of Hull.

Since that date she has had a varied career across three forces.

In 2018 she was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable and in April 2021 became the first female Chief Constable to lead Merseyside Police.

As Chief Constable her force strategy includes inclusion, tackling serious & organised crime, community engagement, wellbeing, preventative policing and protecting vulnerable people.

She has been the national lead for drones and Response Policing and is now Chair of the National Prevention Coordination Committee.

In July 2023 she was proud to be awarded a King’s Police medal in the Birthday Honours.

Serena is married to Ian, a retired Police Officer and has three children and two grandchildren.

Session 12: Breakout three (Gielgud room) - Prevention and partnerships

Andy Doran

With 17 years of policing experience across three forces, Andy transitioned to Salesforce as an Enterprise Account Executive in December 2021. Now part of Salesforce's Public Sector Team, he manages accounts for UK police and fire services. Formerly Chief Inspector for Digital and Innovation at Lancashire Constabulary, Andy spearheaded transformative initiatives like Robotics Process Automation, Digital Mobility, and the groundbreaking Contact Management voice analytics platform. In his current role, Andy continues to drive citizen-centric transformation, enhancing victim and citizen support to build trust and confidence across the Criminal Justice Service.

Andy has been a key part of the Citizen Transformation work across policing and has been awarded a POP Award from Humberside Police and the Shrievalty Award by Thames Valley Police for helping the forces transform their service to victims. Andy is leading this work across policing for Salesforce. He is passionate about preventing a post-code lottery for citizens and putting the victim at the heart of everything we do.

Session 12: Breakout three (Gielgud room) - Prevention and partnerships

Colin Burton

Colin Burton is a solutions specialist with more than 20 years of relevant commercial experience delivering bespoke recruitment and tech-based solutions into both the private and public sectors. He has a huge passion for innovation and runs his own consultancy business. Colin chairs the Independent Advisory Group for Kent Police and this year took on chairing the National Community Reference Group for the Police Race Action Plan. This group, which has now grown to more than 80 members, brings together experts of predominantly Black heritage from many specialist areas to advise the plan and engage with policing more widely.

He has direct relationships with dozens of forces across the country as well as other agencies in the criminal justice system.

Session 13: Plenary session: Race and equality

T/Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dr Alison Heydari

Alison joined Hampshire Constabulary at the end of 2000. As a student officer, Alison successfully applied for the Home Office Accelerated Promotion Scheme for Graduates and was promoted to Sergeant with just over two years’ service.

Alison has a varied career which includes working as a detective in the Criminal Investigations Department and in uniform roles, including Public Protection lead, child abuse investigator, city commander and emergency response commander. Alison has managed impactive community issues and driven the force wide strategic response to hate crime and harmful practices as force lead. Alison practiced as a trained Negotiator for eight years and is also a Gold Public Order Public Safety Commander. Her interest in the response to and impact of Domestic Abuse has been realised in her influence on policy development, tactical delivery and academic research.

Alison’s policing roles have been enhanced by secondments to His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire and Rescue and teaching at John Jay Exchange College of Criminal Justice, New York. She has also carried out work in San Paulo, Brazil supporting victims of people trafficking.

Alison mentors extensively and is heavily involved in supporting the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda. Her passions centre on utilising the tenets of procedural justice to build legitimacy in policing, building community trust and confidence.

Alison joined the Metropolitan Police Service in June 2020 as a Frontline Policing Commander with additional pan London responsibility for a number of portfolios including neighbourhood policing. Alison is the NPCC Chief Officer lead for Out of Court Resolutions (Disposals). Her recent appointment as Director for the Police Race Action Plan sees her driving a national programme of work necessary to respond to critically low levels of trust and confidence in Black communities.

Academic achievements include a Post Graduate Certificate of Education, 1st Class Honors BSc in Social Policy, MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice and is a Chartered Management Institute Fellow at level 7 in both Strategic Leadership & Management and Coaching & Mentoring. Alison graduated with a PhD from Portsmouth University in October 2019. Her published papers include those on Domestic Abuse and applying the pillars of procedural justice to community engagement.

Session 13: Plenary session: Race and equality

Alison Lowe OBE

Alison Lowe is the Deputy Mayor for Police and Crime in West Yorkshire. She started her role in July 2021 and was appointed by the new Metro Mayor, Tracy Brabin, because of her extensive voluntary sector, political and policing experience over a 30+ year period.

Alison worked in the Third Sector for more than 30 years, most recently as Chief Executive of Touchstone, a Mental Health Charity working across West Yorkshire. Touchstone work with and for people that are affected by mental health problems, and they specialise in working with people from different cultural backgrounds. Touchstone have received multiple awards for their work in inclusion and diversity, including the number 1 spot in the 2016, 2017 and 2018 UK Top 50 Most Inclusive Employers Award. They have been a Stonewall Top 100 LGBT-Friendly Employer since 2014 and are again a 3 Star Extraordinary Sunday Times Best Company to work for in 2021. Additionally, Touchstone were judged to be Investors in People Platinum once again at their latest re-assessment (July 2021).

Alison has been involved in local government for 29 years and was a councillor with the Labour Party. Alison was also the Chair of the Police and Crime Panel, the body that scrutinises the performance of the Police and Crime Commissioner and represents the interests of all the 2.3 million people across West Yorkshire. Alison was the Deputy Lord Mayor of Leeds in 2003-4 and was made an Honorary Alderwoman of the city in 2020. In this role, Alison was asked to review Leeds statues following the BLM protests.

Alison is a Non-Executive Director with Leeds Community Health NHS Trust.

Over the years, Alison has been a well-known campaigner on equal rights and chaired the Leeds Domestic Violence Forum that raises awareness of domestic violence against women and children by known men for over 25 years.

Alison Lowe holds an MA in Medieval Studies from Leeds University and a BA in History and was given an Honorary Doctor of Laws in 2022. She was also awarded an OBE in the January 2022 Queen’s Honours List. Alison has 2 grown up children, Adam and Rosy and grandchildren Mae and Oscar.

Session 13: Plenary session: Race and equality

Steve Noonan

Steve was appointed to his current role in October 2023. He is responsible for Major Investigations, Wales and the South West, Midlands, North East and North West.

Steve joined the organisation in 2013 and has held various roles within the Operations Directorate and was the Director of Major Investigations from 2019. This portfolio included major investigations, anti-corruption, digital investigations, and intelligence functions. He was also previously our strategic lead for roads policing, and is our current strategic lead for discrimination work.

Previously Steve was an Operations Manager for the North West of England, and also led on national change and continuous improvement projects.

Before joining the IOPC, Steve served with the Royal Military Police for 23 years, working in a variety of response roles and latterly with the Special Investigations Branch (SIB) investigating serious crimes around the globe involving service personnel.  His time in the armed forces involved numerous operational tours.

Session 13: Plenary session: Race and equality

Jabeer Butt OBE

Jabeer has an international reputation for his evidence-based work tackling discrimination and disadvantage.

His studies have been used to inform government thinking, including interventions such as Sure Start, as well as the NSPCC’s Grove House Family Centre.

Jabeer provides leadership on the Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities (SFSC) parenting programme and is currently co-investigator on a £1.5 million NIHR-funded randomised control trial of the SFSC programme, being led by Professor Richard Watt at University College London.

Jabeer has a key role in the Health and Wellbeing Alliance, which has helped create better conversations between the Black and minority ethnic-led voluntary sector and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and Public Health England.

He secured a £485,000 grant from the DHSC to support older people living with dementia as part of the emergency response to coronavirus (COVID-19).

Jabeer was on the Marmot Advisory Group, supporting Sir Michael Marmot to produce his report on the social causes of health inequalities.

He is also co-investigator on the £1.3 million National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded extension of the VirusWatch study focusing on COVID-19 and the Black, Asian and minority ethnic and migrant communities, led by Professor Robert Aldridge of University College London.

Jabeer also sits on a number of other boards and committees. He was awarded an OBE in the 2013 Queen’s New Year Honours List for his services to health equality.

Session 13: Plenary session: Race and equality