Our
Committee

APComm is run by an elected Executive Committee, made up of volunteers who are members currently working within police communications.

Your APComm Executive members are:

Kate Quilley, Co-Chair

kate.quilley@westmidlands.police.uk

It is Kate’s great pleasure and privilege to have been the Co-Chair of APComm for nearly five years. Kate is also currently the Assistant Director-Corporate Communications for West Midlands Police, appointed to this role in July 2024.

After graduating Kate started her professional career working as a Communications Assistant for an environmental charity before training as a journalist while working for a weekly newspaper series in Northamptonshire. Kate then went on to work in a number of specialist roles at the Derby Evening Telegraph, particularly enjoying her time as a court reporter.

In 2016 Kate joined Derbyshire Constabulary as a Press Officer where her policing career got off to a flying start working within a busy communications team dealing with everything from major incidents to force-wide campaigns.

She moved to Warwickshire Police on promotion to the post of Senior Press Officer in 2008 and immediately loved working within another incredibly friendly and inviting police force. In this role Kate led the response to high profile murder investigations and subsequent criminal proceedings, internal and external engagement campaigns and supported a small team of Press Officers.

Over the following years Warwickshire Police entered into a strategic alliance arrangement working with West Mercia Police and in 2012 Kate was successfully appointed as the new Head of Corporate Communications for Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police. This was a hugely challenging position working to build a new team to provide wholescale communication services to both forces. Leading a large Corporate Communications function, delivering operational and organisational communications both internally and externally this role included the management of media relations, public and stakeholder relations, digital communications, internal communications, reputation management and the marketing of policing services.

Overseeing significant function and organisational changes, Kate continued within this role until the termination of the strategic alliance in 2019 when she moved back to Warwickshire Police as the Head of Corporate Communications.

In July 2024, Kate was successful in becoming the new Assistant Director – Corporate Communications for one of the biggest UK police forces where she currently leads a broad Corporate Communications department, including a police museum and FOI team.

With 18 years of service in policing Kate is extremely proud of the organisation she works within and is passionate about putting the public at the heart of all services delivered.

Clare Mills, Vice Chair

Clare Mills, Co-Chair

clare.mills@npcc.police.uk

Clare is privileged to be the Co-Chair of APComm.

Clare is currently the NPCC Head of Communications for the Agenda for Reform. Prior to this role, Clare was the Head of Strategic Comms and Engagement for Wiltshire Police, where she headed up a team of 15 staff. In that role, she was responsible for the development of the Force strategic internal, external and digital communication and engagement approach, led on organisational Reward and Recognition and led the communications for critical incidents, gold groups and other strategic issues. Between 2012 and 2020, Clare also headed up a shared service team of communications professionals across the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and Wiltshire Police, so has a lot of experience in the broader communications requirements across the wider crime and justice arena.

Clare was responsible for leading the strategic communications and media approach for the inquiry into allegations of non-recent child abuse against the late Sir Edward Heath. She also more recently led the significant communications and media for the local response to the Salisbury poisonings, which saw Wiltshire Police lead in the bringing together of multiple partners at both a local and national level to co-ordinate the response phase of the consequence management element of this global incident.

Clare has over 22 years' experience in police communications across four police forces/organisations and prior to becoming Co Chair, was a Vice Chair for 3 years. She is hugely passionate about public service comms and relishes the opportunity to support members across the country in her role as APComm Co-Chair, alongside Kate Quilley.

Cerri Evans, Secretary

Cerri.Evans@lincs.police.uk

Cerri is the APComm Secretary and joined APComm in November 2023. She carries out the role alongside her full-time communications role supporting operational policing at Lincolnshire Police.

Her role for APComm involves keeping members updated on upcoming events, training opportunities, and other news relevant to the policing comms sector through the monthly bulletin. She also manages the calendar of Executive and national meetings, documents minutes for both, manages the membership contacts database and other APComm documents, and offers support to elected Chairs at APComm-led events.

In Lincolnshire, she is responsible for communications for the West of the county; this includes leading on responsive operational policing, proactive communications for Neighbourhood teams, CID investigations, court cases, drugs jobs, liaison with the regional unit, strategic planning, and coordinating joint communications activity with partner agencies.

If you have a question about APComm events and activities, or a general enquiry about APComm, Cerri can help answer directly or signpost to the most appropriate elected member.

Lucy Bogustawski, Treasurer and Membership Secretary

Lucy.bogustawski@lincs.pnn.police.uk

Lucy joined APComm as Treasurer in the spring of 2020, around the same time she was appointed Head of Corporate Communications at Lincolnshire Police.

Her role for APComm involves handling the finances, responsibility for membership renewals and forecasting future expenditures and revenue streams.

In Lincolnshire, she is responsible for a team of communications officers, graphic designers, engagement leads and an audio-visual department. Lincolnshire is a large county, mainly rural, with pockets of urban communities. Like many other forces and their communications departments, it shares lots of common traits with others but is unique in itself.

Lucy is your point of contact for APComm if you have any questions about your membership subs or details, and/or any questions about how APComm decides what projects or work the budget is spent on.

Alan Woods, Vice Chair

alan.woods@npcc.police.uk

Alan is Head of Media and Public Affairs at the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), where he oversees the communication team.

He is leading on several national workstreams, including the police communications response to recommendations made in the independent review of the Nicola Bulley investigation. This includes working with both police communicators and senior media representatives to strengthen the relationship between policing and journalists.

Alan is involved in projects to standardise police communication and build further professional networks within the sector, and will be working closely with his Executive Committee colleagues to explore how this work can be accelerated by APComm.

Alan previously led the Press Office team at Essex Police.

Prior to moving into communication, much of his professional career was spent in senior management roles in regional newsrooms, particularly leading change projects as newsrooms moved from prioritising print to digital.

Alan was elected as a Vice Chair for APComm in January 2025 and shares a Vice Chair role with Matt Coyle.

Helen Wilson, Vice Chair

helen.wilson@surrey.pnn.police.uk

Helen is the Head of Corporate Communications and Engagement at Surrey Police, leading a department made up of four core functions; News, Strategic Communication, Engagement and Production. Since becoming the permanent Head in the summer of 2019 she has, for the first time in over a decade, secured extra funding to grow her team and is looking forward to seeing the new Engagement Team work closely with policing colleagues to enhance how they engage with all demographics of Surrey’s local communities.

Helen joined Surrey Police in January 2001 working as a Press Officer. Since joining she has worked across most disciplines within Corporate Communications, and at every level within the team. Over two decades there have been numerous challenging cases and events that she has worked on or led the communications for; Op Ruby (Milly Dowler murder); 2012 Olympics; Op Franklin (Floods) and the Magna Carta event to name just a few.

Originally from Northamptonshire, Helen moved to Southampton to study Journalism, completing her degree and a post-graduate qualification in Broadcast Journalism. Prior to joining Surrey Police she was a radio newsreader for the BBC and two independent radio stations before embarking on a career with Surrey Police.

In January 2020 Helen became one of the Vice Chairs of APComm and has been instrumental in developing and implementing the APComm Mentor Scheme which has about 30 communicators, nationally, benefiting from the experience of senior and seasoned communicators in policing. Helen has also developed the APComm membership calendar which is circulated monthly. If you are interested in learning more about the Mentor Scheme or if you are wanting to have something published in the calendar email helen.wilson@surrey.pnn.police.uk.

Lindsey Wyatt, Vice Chair

lindsey.wyatt@westyorkshire.police.uk

Lindsey has been a Communications Officer with West Yorkshire Police for the past 11 years. This role includes providing communications support and media handling for live incidents and investigations as part of a press office shift rota and on-call support out of hours. She also has particular responsibility for a policing district and the Professional Standards Directorate and leads on communication for these portfolio areas, which has included developing processes for the publicising of criminal and misconduct investigations into police officers and staff. She has extensive experience in developing communications strategies and providing press office support for Force campaigns, particularly in relation to safeguarding and roads policing. In recent years, there has been a move for more omni-competency in the communications officer role and Lindsey has also developed her video filming and editing skills to produce caption videos for social media.

Her policing communications career began as a Communications Assistant at Surrey Police before being promoted to Media Relations Officer at the same force a year later. Before that, she worked as a journalist on a weekly newspaper in Wales.

Lindsey was elected as a Vice Chair for APComm in January 2025.

Vicky O'Hare, Vice Chair

vicky.ohare@thamesvalley.police.uk

Vicky O’Hare is the Strategic Communications Manager for Regional Policing in the South East of England.

She created a regional communications capability covering all disciplines – which is hosted in Thames Valley Police – to provide a dedicated service to Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) and the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU).

She is a respected and valued senior leader in police communications. Prior to her current role, she spent nine years working in a number of different communications roles with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary and has also worked in local government. Before moving into communications, Vicky was a print journalist.

Vicky has extensive experience of leading the police communications response to major incidents - including the terrorist attack in Reading in June 2020 – and also specialises in delivering bespoke internal communications solutions in sensitive environments.

Vicky is passionate about policing and the people who make it the best job in the world.

Vicky returns to the APComm Executive for a second term, after originally being elected in 2023.

Hannah Easterby, Vice Chair

hannah.easterby@sussex.police.uk

Hannah is Deputy Head of Media and Communications at Sussex Police, where she is directly accountable and responsible for the day-to-day management of the Force’s 24/7 communications function.

A Journalism and English Language graduate, she began her career as a reporter on a local newspaper in London, specialising in crime and court reporting, before moving into public sector communications.

She has developed a wealth of skills and experience in media relations, internal and external comms and crisis communications working at a variety of organisations including London Fire Brigade, The Army, a London council, and the NHS.

Passionate about diversity and steadfast in her belief that representation in the criminal justice system matters, Hannah volunteered as a magistrate for five years, prior to joining Policing.

She plans to use her role to advocate for the profession and collaborate with members to improve diversity within it; and to use her lived experience to drive improved awareness and ensure cultural sensitivity in police communication as it strives to better engage with under-represented communities.

Hannah was elected as a Vice Chair for APComm in January 2025.

Amy Nagy, Vice Chair

amy.nagy2@met.police.uk

After graduating, Amy started her professional career as a broadcast journalist in commercial radio in Lincolnshire, before joining the BBC just across the border in South Yorkshire. Five years later, she hung up her microphone, joining South Yorkshire Police as a Communications Officer in 2018.

As well as working in a busy force press office, Amy was also district communications lead for Sheffield, leading the response to a number of high-profile firearms incidents in the city. Passionate about storytelling, she also worked closely with neighbourhood policing teams in some of the most deprived areas of Sheffield, going ‘behind the blue line’ and sharing the human side of policing with the public and the media.

Having been exposed to the world of counter terrorism during the course of her role at SYP, Amy joined Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters in October 2021. As Head of Media and Digital she oversees CTPHQ’s media relations strategy and sets the agenda for the organisation’s social media and digital channels, working closely with the Home Office and the UK Intelligence Community.

Amy was elected as a Vice Chair for APComm in January 2025.

Robin Punt, Vice Chair

Robin.Punt@essex.police.uk

Robin is a former BBC and ITV News Correspondent. He reported internationally and across the UK. He was also a Senior Producer at BBC Newsnight for more than three years

He has over eight years' experience as a Communications Director, delivering strategies and campaigns for high-profile organisations in the UK and overseas. Robin has extensive experience in managing crisis and building trust and confidence in major organisations and - importantly - the people who work for them.

Robin joined Essex Police in 2019 having served as the first Communications Director at Help for Heroes. While at the charity, he successfully campaigned to increase the compensation given to the most seriously wounded Veterans of military service following the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. His campaigns helped raise £300m from the brilliant British public.

Robin was appointed Assistant Chief Officer in 2024, having completed the College of Policing Executive Leadership Programme. He is the only former professional journalist to complete the UK policing profession's most advanced leadership programme.

Robin's mission is to tell the stories of the people who work in policing. He believes that by listening and talking to our communities about the work that officers, police staff and volunteers do to make our region a safe place to live and work, we will unite our society and cut crime.

Robin was elected Vice-Chair of the Association of Police Communicators in 2022.

Matt Coyle

Matt Coyle, Vice Chair

matthew.coyle@npcc.police.uk

Matt has been at the National Police Chiefs’ Council for over two years as Head of Media and Public Affairs, overseeing a number of national workstreams including the response to the Angiolini Inquiry. Before joining policing, he led the press office at the Parole Board for England and Wales during a time of reform and significant public and political scrutiny.

Before entering the world of comms he was a journalist for 10 years, mainly working on the crime and courts beat across national titles including The Sun, Scottish Sun, The Sun on Sunday as well as Scottish Television and The Herald and Evening Times. He then moved away from crime reporting and into news desk management roles across print and digital.

Matt was elected as a Vice Chair for APComm in January 2025 and shares a Vice Chair role with Alan Woods.

Caroline Tozer

Caroline Tozer, Vice Chair

caroline.tozer@staffordshire.police.uk

Caroline Tozer is Head of Corporate Communications and Engagement at Staffordshire Police and Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service, leading a joint team that delivers a full-service communications function.

She has led the team through significant change, both departmentally and organisationally. Her role has seen her lead the communications response during times of crisis and through high-profile investigations that have a significant impact on trust and confidence.

Caroline is a CIPR qualified senior leader who has worked at both strategic and operational levels in a range of sectors, including local government, health and housing. Before moving into communications, Caroline was a broadcast journalist.

Prior to her current role, she was Head of Engagement and Policy for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, leading on all public facing activity and the development and delivery of the Commissioner’s police and crime plan.

She was first on the APComm executive committee between 2020-2022, before taking a year out in 2023 to have her little boy. She is honoured to have been elected by her peers into an APComm Vice Chair role again and looks forward to continuing to provide a voice for communications professionals across policing.

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