Governance – Police Digital Service

Articles of Association

The Police Digital Service Articles of Association set out governance arrangements to include a Board of Directors comprising of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), representatives of other policing governance bodies, representatives of the Chairperson of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, representatives from Operational Policing at Chief Officer level and representatives of the Home Office.

The Police Digital Service Board has been meeting at least quarterly to provide strategic direction and to review progress against our business plan, financial report, performance report and risk register. An opportunity to review the performance of the PDS and endorse the business plan and budget for the forthcoming year is provided at the Annual General Meeting.

Who’s on our Board?

The Police Digital Service Board consists of Police and Crime Commissioners, a representative from the “other policing governance bodies”, plus representatives from Operational Policing at Chief Officer level, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), the Home Office and the NPCC’s Digital, Data and Technology Coordinating Committee (DDaTCC).

In addition, the Police Digital Service regularly engages with members at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ General Meetings and regional meetings which take place throughout the year, to ensure Members are informed of the work of the PDS and that this work is adding value.

Read the 2022-2023 PDS Annual Report

Andrew Dunbobbin, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales

Andy Dunbobbin was elected the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales on 6 May 2021; he officially took office on 13 May 2021.

Mr Dunbobbin is from Connah’s Quay where he lives with his wife, son and daughter.

Mr Andy Dunbobbin is a County Councillor for Flintshire County Council for the Connah’s Quay Golftyn ward but will be stepping down in May 2022, he will continue to be a member of the Connah’s Quay Town Council.

Mr Andy Dunbobbin said that “winning the election was one of the proudest moments of my life. I am passionate about providing a public service and I vow to represent everyone in North Wales, regardless of their political affiliations”.

Ian Bell, Chief Executive Officer Police Digital Service

Ian has been a senior business and IT professional for 20 years, undertaking Chief Information Officer/Director of ICT/Head of IT roles.

He has a successful background with professional services, law enforcement, local authority, manufacturing and education.

Commercially aware and business-led, Ian has broad experience. He was Head of ICT at Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire Constabularies before becoming Director of the National Enabling Programme.

Taking a strategic approach to successful business change and IT leadership, Ian engages with business stakeholders at up to CEO level, delivering business-aligned technology and business process change via the appropriate application of transformed IT.

Ian become CEO of the then Police ICT Company in March 2018, which became the Police Digital Service (PDS) in April 2021.

Simon Bourne, Chief Digital, Data and Technology Officer - Home Office

Simon joined the Home Office in September 2020 and is the Chief Digital, Data and Technology Officer (CDDaTO). Prior to joining the Home Office, Simon spent six years as the Chief Information Officer for the Co-op Group. He has over 30 years of experience of digital and technology leadership roles, working in both financial services and retail sectors.

As the Chief Digital, Data and Technology Officer (CDDaTO), Simon is accountable

for the delivery of digital, data and technology solutions that support the department’s current operations and future business transformation programmes. These cover both core Home Office operations as well as delivery of national law enforcement capabilities.

Simon gained a Masters in Mathematics from Cambridge University. He is married with two children and lives in West Yorkshire.

Rob Carden, Chair of National Police Chiefs' Council's Digital, Data and Technology Coordination Committee

Rob Carden joined Merseyside Police in 1992, following in his father’s footsteps. Whilst the majority of Rob’s career has been spent in Merseyside, he has also worked for Sussex Police.

After returning to Merseyside in 2006, he continued to build his reputation as a highly experienced and respected operational leader.

He was the programme lead for a Tri-Force Collaboration involving Merseyside, North Wales and Cheshire aimed at delivering a shared Niche platform as an enabler for operational collaboration. As part of this work, he was awarded £2.24m of police innovation funding and recognised by the Home Office for delivering one of the first technically enabled operational collaborations in the country.

Rob was Gold Commander for the successful repatriation of British nationals in Wuhan Province, China, to Arrowe Park Hospital, Merseyside. As the first major operation linked to Covid in the country, the operation helped to shape the national policing response to Covid. He went on to manage Merseyside’s response to all phases of the COVID pandemic, implementing business continuity measures to sustain core operational functionality. He subsequently received a national commendation for outstanding leadership and his overall contribution to the policing response to Covid.

Rob has a wide range of command experience including Gold Command for the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, the largest security operation hosted in Merseyside and Gold Command for the Grand National (Aintree Fesitval), on four occasions. Rob has also been a Counter Terrorism Commander and was the strategic firearms commander for the high-level policing operation that followed the terrorist incident at the Women’s Hospital in Liverpool.

Rob joined Cumbria Constabulary in 2022 on promotion to Deputy Chief Constable where he has led a programme of change incorporating a full restructure of the force. He then became Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary on the 1st August 2023.

He is is the NPCC lead for Digital, Data and Technology Coordination Committee and Response Policing. He is also a member of the National Wellbeing Board and the Digital Public Contact Board.

Jeff Cuthbert, Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent

Jeff was first elected to the post of Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent in May 2016 and was re-elected in 2021. He currently holds the Modern Slavery and Serious and Organised Crime portfolios for the Police and Crime Commissioners in Wales and is a member of the Welsh Government Leadership Group on Modern Slavery and People Trafficking. Jeff also leads on Roads Policing, Serious and Organised Crime and Local Policing for the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners. Jeff is a Board member of the Police Digital Service.

Currently Jeff is Chair of “Policing in Wales” which is the body that brings together the four PCCs and Chief Constables in Wales. This enables Wales wide concerns and policies to be discussed and determined, thus allowing informed debate with the Welsh Government Ministers and senior Civil Servants through the Police Partnership Board for Wales. This Board enables planning and co-ordination between reserved and devolved services in Wales.

Prior to becoming Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent, Jeff was a member of the National Assembly for Wales (now called Senedd Cymru). Jeff was first elected in 2003 as the Assembly Member for Caerphilly.

Before his appointment as the Deputy Minister for Skills in May 2011, Jeff served as the Chair of the All Wales Programme Monitoring Committee for the EU Structural Funds. He founded and chaired the Cross-Party Built Environment Group, the Cross-Party Healthy Living Group and the Cross-Party Diabetes Group. He was also a member of the Wales Branch Executive of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

Jeff chaired the Committee on Standards of Conduct and has been a member of the European and External Affairs Committee, the Enterprise and Learning Committee and the Public Accounts Committee.

In May 2013 Jeff was appointed as Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty. He held this post until September 2014 during which time he introduced the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Bill which was enacted in 2015.

Hugh Ind, Chief Executive of British Transport Police Authority

Hugh joined the BTPA in June 2019. Prior to this he worked as Director General at the Cabinet Office where he led work on driving the integration of new style apprenticeships into workforce plans across the public sector.

He worked in the civil service for 27 years. He has significant experience in leading the delivery of law enforcement operations under public scrutiny as well as in leading policy change and legislation. He was Director General of Immigration Enforcement 2016-18 and was Strategic Director for the UK Asylum System 2008-12. He had lead responsibility for the development and introduction of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, building on involvement with policing legislation going as far back as the Police and Magistrates Courts Act 1994. He also spent time as Principal Private Secretary to Tessa Jowell at Dept for Culture, Media and Sport 2001-4.

Angela McLaren, Commissioner for City of London Police

Angela began her career with Fife Constabulary in 1996 where she served in several operational and community roles up to the rank of Chief Inspector.

In 2013, she was appointed Project Manager for the Pathways to Policing Project at the Scottish Police College and was promoted to Superintendent in 2014 holding various portfolios.

In 2015, Angela was promoted to Chief Superintendent and appointed Divisional Commander of Fife Division where she led various operations and events. Angela was later selected to lead a team to produce the first long term strategy for policing in Scotland.

In 2018, Angela was promoted to Assistant Chief Constable responsible for Operational Change and Resilience and in 2019, Angela became the Executive Lead for Organised Crime, Counter Terrorism and Intelligence within Police Scotland.

Angela joined the City of London Police in 2020 as Assistant Commissioner responsible for Economic Crime and Cybercrime before being appointed the City of London Police Commissioner in 2021.

Bethan Page-Jones, Head of the National Police Capabilities Unit - Home Office

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 she headed up work on value for money in policing. Following that she spent many years in HMICFRS, inspecting police efficiency, police effectiveness and police response to domestic abuse, returning to the Home Office to work in policing policy. At the moment her role is focused on ensuring the Home Office is commissioning the capabilities needed to deliver its policing, public protection and crime reduction agenda.

Simon Parr QPM, Senior Responsible Officer Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme - Home Office

Simon Parr QPM was appointed Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) of the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) in March 2021. Prior to this he was the Deputy Programme Director in the National Enabling Programme, helping police forces across England and Wales to transform the way they work and collaborate. As SRO for the programme he is responsible to Parliament for ensuring that ESN is delivered.

Simon is a former Chief Constable with over 32 years of operational policing experience. Simon spent he first 20 years of his career with Sussex Police, during which time he was head of control rooms department and also commander of East Downs Division.

As Chief Constable for Cambridgeshire from September 2010 through to 2015. He worked to transform his organisation into a policing service that meets the public’s needs for the 21^st century. He led a five-year programme of cultural change and leadership development that led to very high rating in a report by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary into efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy. From April 2013 until his retirement in July 2015 he was the UK ‘s national policing lead for Information Management, working with partners to ensure all of UK policing had the ability to work digitally, and take full advantage of smart and mobile technology. This included, from 2013 to his retirement, working as the UK policing senior user in the early days of the ESMCP programme.

Darryl Preston, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

Darryl Preston was elected Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough on 6^th May 2021 and officially took post on 13^th May 2021.

Darryl has proudly served as both a front line police officer and a senior detective for 30 years (10 years in the Met and 20 years in Cambridgeshire).

After retiring from the force, he joined the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners as a senior official where he developed strategic positions and lobbied Government on topics such as serious violence, economic crime and sexual offences legislation.

Darryl’s knowledge, skills and experience will enable him to progress his Police and Crime Plan, through holding Cambridgeshire Constabulary to account for their performance. This includes bringing agencies together and listening to the views and concerns of the public and local communities.

Andrew Snowden, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire

Andrew Snowden was elected Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire in May 2021 with 181,314 votes – the largest number any candidate has ever received. He is responsible for setting policing priorities and budgets, holding the Constabulary to account for delivering against those priorities along with commissioning other services such as victims support. He has set out a clear over-riding aim: To get tough on crime in Lancashire.

Andrew was previously a Lancashire County Councillor and Lead Member for Highways and Transport 2017-2021, where he led the multi-million investment in new and improved bus routes across Lancashire, including securing significant additional government funding for Lancashire.

His professional career has spanned the public and private sectors – where he has held management and leadership roles in higher education and infrastructure services. Up until his election as PCC, Andrew was an Associate Director at the University of Salford, responsible for External Relations.

Andrew lives in Rossendale with his wife, Caroline, and their Norwegian Elkhound, Heidi. They enjoy long country walks – especially with a pub stop or two. Andrew and Caroline were married at Salmesbury Hall in 2014 and first lived together in Chorley, before moving to Rossendale – where Andrew’s family have lived since the mid 1800’s.

Gavin Stephens QPM, Chief Constable for National Police Chiefs' Council

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.

Steve Turner, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland

Steve Turner took up office as Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Cleveland after election in May 2021.

He has lived in Cleveland with his family all his life. His understanding of the region, the community and its challenges is second to none.

As a young man, Steve took part in sport. He represented the area playing basketball at national level before “retiring” into the local rugby scene.

Steve is married with three grown-up sons. He is also a grandfather.

Before election as PCC, Steve worked as Chief of Staff to two local MPs. He worked alongside a team of people, who supported over 140,000 constituents.

His previous role allowed him to get involved in campaigns, about which local people felt strongly. The job also gave him first hand knowledge of the day-to-day issues residents face around crime in the Cleveland Police area.