The Policing Tech Forum, in collaboration with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and techUK, are delighted to announce our inaugural series of webinars looking at the current and future direction of technology across the policing family.
Interoperability is an essential element of any strategy if policing is to exploit the benefits of new and emerging technologies to deliver a service to our communities that is reassuring, efficient and effective at the earliest point of contact.
In the first webinar attendees were provided with an overview of the strategic approach to transforming contact and addressing the business problems this area of policing is facing. The session explored from a digital perspective how 40 of the 43 forces in England and Wales are now utilising the common web platform Single Online Home and are now utilising more effective ways of transferring data around the back end systems to improve productivity.
The challenges faced by policing are not unique and the demands on policing are, in some cases, symptomatic of similar challenges in partner organisations. Contact Management lends itself to innovation and new technology and therefore sustainable solutions require a collaborative approach with those organisations and commercial suppliers.
Speakers included:
- Assistant Chief Constable Catherine Akehurst NPCC National Contact Management Lead
- Deputy Chief Constable Simon Megicks NPCC Digital Public Contact Programme Senior Responsible Officer
- Simon Hall techUK. Chair Justice and Emergency Services Interoperability Forum
Future webinars in this series will include:
- Improving Public Engagement
- Youth Engagement
- Enhancing Contact through Artificial Intelligence
Access to the series will be free to all members of recognised law enforcement agencies and the wider criminal justice sector.
Appropriate private sector organisations will be able to gain access to the series for a fee. Discounted rates will be available to members of Tech UK.
Each webinar will be CPD accredited.
Further details will be published in the coming weeks, but to register your interest in the Forum and ensure that you receive future notifications please click here
DCC Simon Megicks – Senior Responsible Officer for the NPCC’s Digital Public Contact Programme
Simon Megicks is the Senior Responsible Officer for the NPCC’s Digital Public Contact programme, which is enhancing the public’s access to policing through a variety of digital channels such as Single Online Home, MyPolice Portal, Social Media and the Digital Youth Engagement programme. Simon’s day job is Deputy Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary where he has been since the rank of Assistant Chief Constable, having also served in Hertfordshire Police and Cambridgeshire. Simon has a degree in Physics, a Masters in Police Leadership and is a graduate of the University of Cambridge’s Masters programme in Applied Criminology and Police Management.
ACC Catherine Akehurst – NPCC Lead for Contact Management
Catherine became national lead for Contact Management in the summer of 2023 and as part of this role also chairs the National 999/111 Liaison committee which brings together all of the emergency services. She is an ACC at Hertfordshire Constabulary where she is the lead for Strategy and Prevention having transferred back to the force from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary. Catherine previously served in Hertfordshire in all ranks from PC to temporary Assistant Chief Constable. Her force portfolio covers the Force Communications Room (FCR), Operations, Prevention, and Strategy, Performance and Transformation. She is also the lead for the Police Race Action Plan, the Eastern Region chief officer lead for Prevention and the deputy chair of Hertfordshire’s Local Resilience Forum.
Simon Hall – Chair of the techUK Justice and Emergency Service Interoperability Forum
Simon is the Chair of the techUK Justice and Emergency Service Interoperability Forum (JESIF), a role he took on to expand the work of the techUK Interoperability in Police Working Group. He is the founder and CEO of Coeus Software, which developed PoliceBox®, a no-code, SaaS-based digital enablement platform for frontline policing. With over 40 years of experience in technology, Simon has navigated the challenges of building solutions and managing technological obsolescence. He is a strong advocate for interoperability and seamless system integration, contributing several thought leadership pieces on the subject. Simon also serves on the techUK Justice and Emergency Services JES Management Committee and the Procurement sub-group.
