Police Digital Service Strategic Policing Partners (SPP) provide policing and the wider law enforcement community with direct access to our network of experienced specialists. Our SPPs comprise a range of experienced professionals from frontline policing and the technology sector with senior leadership experience and proven expertise across digital transformation, data, cyber and information security.
SPPs are available to Police Digital Service (PDS) members for consultation and advice, scrutiny and challenge, analysis and evaluation, or direct delivery at executive level supported by wider PDS delivery teams. Support is tailored to the requirements of the organisation or project and can range from focused advice on a specific issue to more sustained assistance with complex programmes or transformation activity. Our flexible approach enables organisations to bring in the right specialist expertise at the right time.
The SPP Network
Our current roster of Strategic Policing Partners include:
Selected SPP Bios:
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Amanda has had a career that spans both the public and the private sectors. She started work in the NHS as a laboratory technician, primarily in blood pathology. In 1987 she moved to ICI’s new commercial DNA testing laboratory providing analytical testing for paternity, immigration, forensic cases and genetic diagnostics globally.
In 2002 Amanda joined Thames Valley Police as their Head of Forensic Services, becoming the first police staff member in this role. Drawing on her business and process management skills, she implemented organisational change and significant performance improvement in all areas of the forensic services. She was a prominent and active participant in the ACPO National Forensic Portfolio leading a number of pieces of work across the Criminal Justice system.
She completed the Police Service Senior Command Course in 2007/08 and later in 2008 she became an Assistant Chief Officer, Director of Information, Science and Technology with a portfolio comprising Information, IT, Corporate Communications and Strategic Development. In 2012 this role took on additional service responsibility for IT and Information Management in Hampshire Constabulary and she led on the merger of these functions. She undertook several national roles, chairing the Police Information Assurance, as a member of the ACPO Information Management Board and chairing the National DNA Database Strategy Board.
In June 2014 Amanda was awarded the OBE for her services to National Policing. In April 2015 was seconded to the Home Office Crime and Policing Directorate as SRO for Digital Policing and Science. She led the design of the NPCC Digital Policing Portfolio, the transition of the new Police IT Company, the development of the Home Office Forensic Strategy and the policing input to the 2015 Comprehensive Spending Review.
She returned to Force in December 2015 as Assistant Chief Officer for both Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police and continued her national work through National Police Technology Council roles, and developing the SE Region strategy, and regional IT solutions delivering to Sussex Constabulary, Surrey Police, Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police.
In October 2021 Amanda left her formal policing role. She is now a consultant in strategy, policy and change, focussing on Criminal Justice, Public Safety and Policing sectors. She is owner and Director of ASCO Consulting Ltd. Over the last five years Amanda has been delivering leadership coaching services into Police forces supporting those moving into senior management ranks and roles, undertaken a variety of Transformation Programme reviews for local forces, supported private sector suppliers with Tender response reviews and assisted senior leaders working on new Operating Model reviews and restructures.
Focus Areas:
- Strategic transformational change, strtagy, design, review
- Leading and landing organisational change
- Executive stakeholder engagement /influence
- Strategic visioning and strategy development
- Building and leading successful teams
- NED for Programme Assurance and Support
- Complex strategic problem solving
- Risk, resilience and continuity management
- Systems and supply chain thinking
- Strong commercial and financial acumen
- Persuasive negotiator
- Organisation and Operations design and review
- Experienced operating across national, regional and local policing and government
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Mark is a Chief (Information) Security Officer and strategic business director who works with Chief Officers to enable and empower them to deliver critical national, regional and local policing services with appropriate levels of information security and business resilience.
Mark has performed business, digital and security leadership roles where he has created value, optimised risk and built resilience to unforeseen events. He creates collaborative partnerships and negotiates commercial solutions that have protected national security; disrupted criminals; kept people safe; and delivered £million benefits and £billion reductions in risk.
Mark understands the challenges facing policing having worked for the Home Office, Ministry of Defence, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, National Crime Agency, local constabularies and the security agencies supporting them. His service as a Special Chief Officer included a full-time secondment to a 999 intervention team and working within a Chief Officer Group to support policing operations and digitally-enabled business transformation.
Mark specialises in creating value by assessing current security capabilities and risks; defining viable strategic visions; and formulating the implementation plans needed to achieve them. He is passionate about coaching and developing people, leaders and organisations, enabling them to achieve personal and business goals. Mark believes everyone’s contribution should be needed and valued; developed and rewarded; inspired and enjoyable.
Focus Areas:
- Conducting a baseline assessment of an organisation’s security and resilience capabilities against best practice.
- Working with senior leaders to characterise strategic security risks impacting their organisation.
- Identifying and comparing a range of strategic options for improving security and resilience to meet business needs.
- Developing proactive and viable security and resilience strategies and their underpinning capability financial, workforce and commercial plans.
- Delivering complex capability development plans aligned to national and local policing and law enforcement strategies.
- Designing effective security operating models involving organisations collaborating at local and national levels
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Geoff works with chief officer teams to turn digital ambition into delivery that holds up both operationally and financially. As a technologist and a chartered management accountant, he is as comfortable building a business case or a target operating model as he is leading the teams who keep frontline systems running day to day.
At City of London Police he is leading a Police Digital Services engagement to shape the Force’s digital, data and technology target operating model, alongside interim leadership of its IT and information management functions.
As interim CDIO at Gloucestershire Constabulary he led a full ICT transformation following two decades of underinvestment. He recovered two failing strategic programmes, delivered a new target operating model and digital strategy, and landed key platforms including new records management, duties management, digital evidence and fleet systems, alongside network and infrastructure upgrades, new body-worn video and a refreshed mobile and laptop fleet. He also started the Force on robotic process automation and a new data platform.
Before that he was consulting CDIO at Staffordshire Police and interim CDIO at Warwickshire Police, where he led the separation of the Force’s ICT from the West Mercia strategic alliance and built a new digital service function from the ground up. He created the Force’s digital strategy, which was recognised with a National Police Chiefs’ Council award, and then delivered it end to end: a £50m portfolio of 75 projects portfolio linked to the strategy- spanning people, estates and technology, including a new 999 control room. As IT Director for Thames Valley and Hampshire Police he helped merged the two forces’ ICT departments, recruit and establish a new SMT as well as leading on a number of innovations
His approach is practical rather than theoretical: understand how the work actually gets done before recommending changes to it, and be straightforward about whether change pays for itself.
Focus Areas:
- Interim CDIO and executive technology leadership
- Transformation, change delivery and innovation
- Digital, data and technology (DDaT) strategy and target operating models
- Business cases, investment appraisal and benefits realisation
- Large-scale strategic programme delivery, including ICT separation and programme recovery
- Operational policing platforms: records management, digital evidence, body-worn video and control rooms
- Automation, data platforms and practical adoption of AI
- ICT sourcing, managed service and supplier strategy
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Steve Maxwell is a strategic technology and transformation leader with more than 20 years’ experience delivering large-scale digital, cloud and organisational transformation across policing, critical national infrastructure and global enterprise organisations. He specialises in shaping technology strategy, operating model transformation, cyber resilience and complex business change programmes that deliver measurable operational outcomes.
Currently supporting national policing transformation through the Police Digital Services, Steve has played a key role in programmes including the Independent Review of Policing, the development of shared operating models across multiple police forces, and the creation of a single national Microsoft 365 tenant for UK policing.
Prior to this, he served as Head of Digital & Technology at Warwickshire Police, where he led the force’s end-to-end technology function, delivering a new operating model, strengthening cyber resilience and modernising frontline technology services while remaining cost neutral.
Across his career, Steve has held senior leadership roles with Carlsberg Britvic, Haleon, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), National Grid and Capita/Transport for London, leading global cloud, architecture and transformation programmes valued in the hundreds of millions of pounds. He is recognised for translating complex strategic challenges into practical, deliverable solutions that improve efficiency, resilience and public service outcomes.
Focus Areas:
- Strategic leadership and organisational performance
- Digital transformation and business change
- Artificial Intelligence and responsible innovation
- Governance, assurance and risk management
- Technology enabled policing and public services
- Service redesign and performance improvement
- Programme recovery and strategic remediation
- Information risk and cyber governance
- Leadership development and executive coaching
- Culture, inclusion and workforce transformation
- Multi agency collaboration and stakeholder engagement
- Public sector innovation and operational excellence
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Wayne has recently completed a 30 year career in policing where his senior leadership roles focused around policing business support services, organisational transformation and change but specifically digital and ICT at a local and national level.
He is now bringing all the knowledge and experience gained to bear as an independent consultant. Wayne started his career at Warwickshire Police and went on to lead the business services transformation between Warwickshire and West Mercia Police.
Moving on to the NPCC as Programme Director for the National Enabling Programmes and chair of the National Police Technology Council he also delivered the first National Policing Digital Strategy.Focus Areas:
- Technology enabled transformation
- IT service delivery – Strategy, operating models, skills
- SRO advisory/ support/ coaching
- Projects/Programme reviews/audits and resets
- Police market strategy and support – focus on innovation and SME’s
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Complete this form and a member of the team will be in touch soon.
Matt Welsted is a senior executive, former Assistant Chief Constable and strategic advisor with over three decades of experience leading operational, organisational and technological change across UK policing. Having served for seven years at Chief Officer level, he has held responsibility for public contact, corporate change, communications, innovation, information risk management and large scale transformation programmes.
Throughout his career, Matt has built a reputation for resolving complex delivery challenges, strengthening governance and restoring organisational confidence through clear accountability, evidence based decision making and collaborative leadership. He has led significant improvement programmes, including technology remediation, service redesign, performance recovery and workforce transformation, delivering measurable benefits for the public and police organisations alike.
Matt has extensive experience working across local, regional and national policing, including serving as the National Police Lead for Artificial Intelligence Productivity and National Police Lead for Neurodiversity. As a former Senior Information Risk Owner, he brings a deep understanding of the intersection between technology, risk, ethics and public trust.
Today, Matt advises organisations on the responsible adoption of AI, digital innovation, strategic assurance and organisational improvement. He is passionate about helping leaders harness technology to improve outcomes for people, communities and frontline professionals while maintaining strong governance and public confidence.
Focus Areas:
- Strategic leadership and organisational performance
- Digital transformation and business change
- Artificial Intelligence and responsible innovation
- Governance, assurance and risk management
- Technology enabled policing and public services
- Service redesign and performance improvement
- Programme recovery and strategic remediation
- Information risk and cyber governance
- Leadership development and executive coaching
- Culture, inclusion and workforce transformation
- Multi agency collaboration and stakeholder engagement
- Public sector innovation and operational excellence
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Requests and Enquiries
If you would like to request the support of an SPP please submit this form for which you can include a request for a specific individual or a general skill set. Rates for SPPs are determined on a case-by-case basis around specific needs but given experience and seniority will usually align to SFIA Levels 6 or 7 within the PDS Rate Card.
Become an SPP
If you would like to express interest in becoming part of the SPP network please contact us via this form.
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Click here to complete our contact form
Testimonials of our SPPs and Advisory Services
frank and practical advice
“I wanted to express my sincere appreciation for the open and constructive discussion. Your willingness to share your experience, insights and lessons learned was extremely helpful and provided us with valuable perspectives as we continue to develop our approach.
We are particularly grateful for the frank and practical advice you offered. Drawing on the experience of others who have faced similar challenges is invaluable, and there is much that we can learn from the journey you have been through.
Thank you again for your time, support and candour. I am sure this will not be the last
conversation, and I hope we can continue to draw on your expertise as our work progresses. We look forward to keeping in touch and engaging with you again in the future.”
willingness to amend and adapt any requirements
“… your attention and availability has been tremendous, willingness to amend and adapt any requirements was essential in getting this over the line in a short time-frame.”
professionalism, clarity, and insight
“The advisory services delivered by the Police Digital Service … were superb. Their team engaged with professionalism, clarity, and insight—providing evidence-based recommendations … through interviews … and thorough document reviews. Their work offered a valuable external perspective … helping both technical and non-technical stakeholders gain clarity and direction. As a result, we’ve already implemented immediate recommendations that have reduced risk and improved productivity. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with PDS as we build on this strong foundation.”