Advisory Board

Nick Alston has a long background in defence, security and policing. After graduating from Cambridge University he was commissioned into the Royal Navy where he joined the staff of the Royal Naval Engineering College as a lecturer in Materials Science. From there he worked for a further 29 years in the United Kingdom defence arena before joining Goldman Sachs where he became a Managing Director and co-head of its worldwide corporate security office.

In 2012 Nick was elected as the first Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex. He was responsible among other things for the Police and Crime Plan and for police funding as well as holding the Chief Constable to account for effective and efficient policing. He has a particular interest in encouraging partnership working between public sector agencies and involving the voluntary and third sectors.

Nick was appointed CBE in the 1997 New Year’s Honours list.

Simon Bailey has been a police officer for 29 years, serving predominantly as a detective in King’s Lynn and Norwich.

In 1998, he was seconded to the National Crime Squad and as Detective Inspector he was responsible for managing covert operations at a national and international level targeting serious and organised crime gangs. In 2000 he was further seconded to the Rosemary Nelson murder investigation based in Northern Ireland. He worked for three years on the investigation before he returned to Norfolk as a Detective Superintendent with responsibility for intelligence.

In December 2005 Simon Bailey was promoted to the rank of Detective Chief Superintendent and as Head of Crime he managed the force specialist crime and operations resources. In 2007 he was appointed to lead the force modernisation programme and whilst successfully leading this programme he passed the Police National Assessment Centre and between October 2008 and February 2009 attended the Police National Strategic Command Course. DCC Bailey was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable with responsibility for Legal Services, Human Resources, and Force Performance in September 2010, he was also lead for the Norfolk Policing model Review. On 10 June 2013, Mr Bailey was temporarily promoted to the rank of Temporary Chief Constable and on the 19th September 2013 was appointed Chief Constable by the Police and Crime Panel. In January 2014 Mr Bailey became the NPCC lead for Child Protection and Investigation and in May 2016 he also became NPCC lead for Violence and Public Protection.

Simon is married with two children and two grandchildren. He was educated at Wymondham College and Norwich City College and has a Cambridge University Masters Degree in Criminology and Police Management. In January 2016, he was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service.

Andy Prophet is the Assistant Chief Constable at Essex Police Headquarters.

Andy started his policing career in 1996 as a police constable in Thurrock. He has worked at all ranks up to Assistant Chief Constable in a range of roles across Essex.

He is responsible for Local Policing as well as Crime and Public Protection across the County. Andy is the National Police Chief’s Council lead for Anti-Social Behaviour, Homelessness and Arson and a senior firearms and public order commander with experience of leading the policing response at music festivals, protests and sporting events.

Kate Bowers is a Professor in Crime Science with the Department of Security and Crime Science at University College London. She has worked in the field of crime science for over 20 years and has published 100 papers, books and book chapters in environmental criminology and crime science.

Her most recent research has focused on developing advanced methods for crime analysis and prediction, improving the evidence base for crime prevention and using innovative data sets to answer crime and security questions.

Dr David Ho is a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist, and Head of Research and Innovation at Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. He has provided expert witness medico legal evidence in high profile criminal cases, including offences of homicide, serious sexual assault, and complex fraud. Dr Ho is also well published in the field of forensic psychiatry and sexual offending, and has appeared on popular media including BBC and ITV television, and various radio station broadcasts.

Nerys Thomas is Knowledge, Research and Practice Lead at the College of Policing, helping the service to identify, share and use evidence about what works. She has been working in policing and criminal justice research for 23 years and prior to joining the College, held various roles in the Home Office, the Office for Criminal Justice Reform and the National Policing Improvement Agency. She has carried out and published research on a wide range of issues including police demand, vehicle crime, police investigations, use of forensics and intelligence. She has been seconded to a government-led criminal justice reform project focusing on the Human Rights Act and was a member of the first Home Office task force sent to Macedonia in 1999 to co-ordinate the evacuation of refugees from Kosovo. Before joining the Home Office, Nerys completed a Master of Science degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Wales, Cardiff.