I started working at BTP in January 2006 as a PNC Operator, working in the Justice Department. I was at a time in my life where I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my career, having had many different jobs and before starting at BTP I was a head chef. I always had an interest in policing as many of my family members were police officers, my father, step-mother, auntie, uncle and my step-grandfather was actually an officer at BTP. So when the PNC Operator role became available, I decided to apply and was successful.
The role entailed updating the Police National Computer with results of Court hearings, bail conditions and warrants for all Court hearings in the South of England. All of the information would come through from each Court on a fax. I also had to manage the case files and once they were complete would have to send them off for storage. The whole process is digital now which makes it a lot easier and certainly a lot quicker! It was a really interesting role and I came into contact with many different people across BTP and the Criminal Justice System.
After about a year, I then moved into the Warrant Officer role. This role was definitely more interesting and the hours were great, I would start at 07:00 and finish at 15:00. I'd get in very early in the morning and would check the logs to see if anyone had been detained on a warrant overnight and then prepare the case files for court. I would have to ensure the courier had left the police station with the case files by 08:30 to ensure CPS had the paperwork for the first hearing at 10:00. Again, this process has now been digitalised.
As my knowledge of the Criminal Justice System grew, I became more confident and I felt that I was making a difference. I loved coming into work every day, I'd never had that feeling in a job before and I knew that I would always stay at BTP. My next role was supervising the PNC Operators and the Warrant Officer, I'd moved up into this role within around 18 months of starting at BTP. It was such a fantastic opportunity. To support me, I was given management and leadership training which was incredibly helpful and helped my confidence grow. I then moved into the next role up and became a second line manager to around 30 people. I then did a six month stint covering a period of sickness in the next role up. I was responsible for a lot of people and the support I was given by the Force was brilliant, it helped me to not just develop myself but develop people around me too.
Then in 2011 there was an opportunity to lead a Pickpocketing Project with the Met and Transport for London. The brief was to reduce pickpocketing on all modes of transport in London by 10% in time for the Olympics. This was such a fantastic role and where I absolutely flourished, I had a team of police officers working for me on the project, which I named Project Spiderweb because there were originally 8 different strands which would collectively have an impact on pickpocket reduction. This is the role where I was given full autonomy for the first time, it was down to me to manage and lead and then report to my line manager who was the Divisional Commander. His trust in me and my abilities again helped me develop and grow, there were times where I would get imposter syndrome but I was so busy I just had to put that to one side and get on with the brief. Suffice to say, the project was a success and we managed to reduce pickpocketing by 10.5%, we improved conviction rates with increased sentences for those offending on the railway. This project was one of my proudest achievements, I also received a coin from David Cameron for my contribution to the Olympics, although I didn't meet him in person.
After the Olympics I moved into the Technology Department, my brief was to manage the Managers and to bring in order and a performance regime. This was a challenging role, as I was managing 8 people who were all higher grades than me, so it really took some time to settle in and win them over, particularly as I was not a 'techie' and had no IT qualifications. It was at this time I went into overdrive on self-development, I undertook a number of ITIL certifications, to prove to everyone, including myself that I had a right to be there. I also undertook CMI Level 5 Advanced Diploma for Management & Leadership and I think this course had the biggest impact on me professionally. I learnt so much about leadership, management and myself. This course prepared me and gave me the skills needed for all of my subsequent roles. The next role I undertook was a big promotion to the Head of Service Management, setting the strategy, managing performance and leading the service desk and end user teams, I stayed in this role until 2018.
A temporary role became available for the Head of Justice, it was a 12 month secondment and I thought I would apply and see what happens. The worst thing that could happen would be that I would get more interview experience and feedback from the panel, the best thing would be that I could get the promotion. Thankfully I was successful, although I couldn't believe it, I had never run a whole department before, plus I hadn't worked in Justice for a very long time. This is where the imposter syndrome really hit me, I was leading a team of senior managers who knew the Criminal Justice System in more depth than I. It was a tough transition because I went from an area where I knew everything to an area where I had to rely on my teams and would have to trust they knew what they were doing and that they were doing it correctly. It probably took around 3 months to really settle in and get up to speed on everything, I was incredibly lucky to have had such a supportive Senior Leadership Team in Justice, they were absolutely fantastic.
I was only meant to be in the role for 12 months but by the end of the temporary move, I had been there for 3 years. After the first 12 months, my manager asked me to also take on the First Contact Centre and the Force Control Room. Again, I was highly nervous as I knew very little about those teams and their functions. Within the next 6 months I was asked if I could also take the CCTV Department. So in the space of a couple of years I had gone from running one department to 3 critical departments. Probably the hardest time in my career was when covid happened, particularly as I was responsible for 3 of the force's critical departments. Throughout this time I had to implement pandemic plans, change shift patterns to reduce the likelihood of all staff coming down with covid at once. Equally as we are a national force operating over 3 different countries, we had to manage every single change in the regulations for each of those countries. The technology provision at this time was pretty poor, the hardware was old, the applications we needed to use were slow and there were very few laptops available to assist people to work from home, so it was quite the hindrance and another challenge to try to overcome. It was so busy and throughout this time I learnt how to be more resilient, I had to take charge of situations, remain calm and lead the way. I could not have done it without my Senior Leadership Team, teamwork and collaboration had never been so important.
Finally, in 2021 I applied for the Head of Technology role, I had been so critical about the force's technology that I felt I had to try to do something about it. I was successful and the first thing I delivered was an End User Compute project, replacing all of the aged desktops/laptops across the force. When I first started in the department our all people survey for Technology was 77% negative but after the first year, it went to 88% positive which is probably another one of my proudest moments, the whole department actually received a Commendation from the Chief Constable.
Each individual in the force really gets to make such a positive impact on others through the work that they do. BTP is a fantastic place to work, you get all of the support needed to help you develop, you can bring your true self to work, it is such a beautiful community and I wouldn't change anything. I have spent the last 18.5 years in this organisation, I have pushed myself and gone from strength to strength. I am grateful for all of the opportunities that BTP has given me, when I first started as a PNC Operator, I never thought that I would be the Head of Technology.
