The following nominations have been received for a position of Vice Chair for the APComm executive committee.

Voting has now closed and results will be announced in the week commencing 13 January 2025. The new post holders will commence their role on 23 January 2025.

Your APComm Vice Chair nominees are below:

Julie Allen

I have been working in police communications for Bedfordshire for almost seven years and I can honestly say this role has been the most varied and challenging one I have had in my career, but it’s also the one I have learnt the most from.

Having worked extensively on our busy news desk, I have dealt with a number of emerging reputational issues and media enquiries; often making decisions under pressure and dealing with complex and sensitive issues. 

I have been involved in improving policies and procedures to help the news desk run more efficiently and I have been instrumental in mentoring new or inexperienced members of staff and ensuring they feel supported as I recognise there is a lot to learn which can be daunting at first. 

I have managed a number of portfolio areas; the majority being in the vulnerability area, so mainly dealing with very sensitive issues. As vice chair I would be keen to explore how we ensure the victim is at the heart of everything we do in police communications and how we can utilise lived experiences across the wider police communications network. 

Through my portfolio areas I have worked closely with various teams throughout the force and have built up and maintained good relationships with them and given them a better understanding of the value of communications and how I can support them. 

I have also been involved in managing and supporting critical and major incidents; working closely with partners to keep the public updated and to provide reassurance. I led on one particularly challenging incident recently whilst on call over a weekend, which enabled me to use my leadership skills, attend high level meetings, advise Gold commanders and manage partners whilst chairing a comms cell. 

I feel that my extensive experience working in police comms could bring a lot to the ApComm vice chair role as I have dealt with a number of different incidents and scenarios and am keen to look at the best way we can share our knowledge and learning across all comms teams. 

As vice chair I would be interested in finding out the types of issues the comms teams in other forces face daily and how we can work together and create a sharing forum which will enable us we to learn best practice from each other.

Julie Allen

Vicky O'Hare

Working in police communications is a job like no other – on that I think we can all agree.

During my almost 15 years service, I have worked on a huge range of incidents, investigations, campaigns and all the other things we get roped into!

I have worked really hard to develop relationships with people from all corners of policing and in more recent years, the wider security community, to help me with the day job and also to share knowledge, ideas, and seek solace when things don’t go quite to plan.

And APComm has been front and central to this - from my first experience of the police communicators courses through to being part of the executive responsible for organising two amazing in-person Academy events and two equally brilliant virtual weeks of learning. The support network that is driven by the executive is second to none.

In the past two years I’ve spent on the executive, I’ve worked as part of the team to deliver a number of events – the first deputy heads of comms network meeting for example – and also represented police communicators nationally at event for trainee journalists.

My passion for policing remains unwavering and I’m a complete advocate for using communications as an operational tactic where appropriate.

Putting communications on a firm footing as a key operational capability has been my priority for a number of years and while we’ve made excellent progress with this, there is still so much to do.

I am keen to champion this work and build on the progress we’ve already made, most recently demonstrated in our theme for the 2024 Academy event. Given the opportunity, I will seek to push forward with this work and ensure your efforts get the recognition they deserve.

I currently lead a small but mighty team of communicators covering two specialist policing units – Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) and the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU). 

My role is to provide strategic communications advice and support to both senior leadership teams and the regional management board on all communications disciplines. While this work is very different in some ways to force policing, it has many of the same communications challenges.

I would love the opportunity to continue representing and working hard for police communicators across the UK by being re-elected as a vice chair on the APComm Executive.

Alan Woods

You know those journalists who repeatedly fire in irritating media enquiries when they see two police cars parked outside a chip shop? Yes, that was once me.

I used to be a local journalist, and latterly a senior regional editor overseeing multiple newspapers and websites, but now head up the media relations and public affairs function for the NPCC. 

Since moving into police communications, I have realised the importance of a trusted and productive, two-way relationship between the police press office and its local journalists. 

That’s why I’m leading the national response to the Nicola Bulley review recommendations. 

'Consider how confidence between police and the media can be rebuilt,' the report said. 

'Where do you begin?' I said. 

A year on, we’re making progress. Every force communications team had its say (sorry for the surveys), as have journalists. 

Now we're doing the exciting bit, looking at what works and what doesn't, and how both sides can adapt to rebuild this critical relationship.

What would be my priorities as Vice Chair?

• The stakeholders we work with at the NPCC is extensive, from the Home Office to Number 10, into the third sector and beyond. I sit in a privileged position to see how communication works at the most senior level in the public sector, and there is much we can learn from outside policing. 
• At the NPCC, we’re looking at professionalising police communications. If you work in the Government, you benefit from the GCS. If you work in policing communications, you don't. Police communicators deserve a defined CPD path, and I’d look to accelerate this work.
• I believe a more consistent approach to peer learning would benefit all. The Heads of Communication network is great, and I believe there should be a similar network for experts in media handling, internal communications, and campaigns. 
• I would look at how APComm can better amplify the voice of police communicators externally, and where the organisation can influence. We work in communications, but there's a gap to promote our work.

I believe the APComm exec would benefit from fresh faces. Fresh faces bring fresh perspectives. 

The work of the outgoing exec is an incredible platform to build on, and with the support of the NPCC communications team around me and all the levers working at a national level can pull, I believe I would bring a valuable perspective to the table as Vice Chair.

Caroline Tozer

Head of Corporate Communications and Engagement at Staffordshire Police 

I first had the privilege of being on the APComm executive from 2020-2022 when I was the first PCC communicator to be elected into a Vice Chair role. During this time, I ensured PCC comms leads had a voice within the national network and I was able to vastly increase attendance of PCC communicators at APComm Academy and other CPD opportunities. When I later moved onto Staffordshire Police, I led on digital for APComm and jointly developed a new website for the association. I also worked with Oscar Kilo, the police wellbeing service, and colleagues across police comms to develop a dedicated police comms wellbeing guide. Something that is still utilised today.

In 2023, I took a year out to have my little boy, but I’m now hoping I’ll be lucky enough to have the opportunity to be an APComm Vice Chair for a second time.

Having recently supported an exercise on the College of Policing’s Executive Leadership Programme, I am keen to further develop training for comms professionals and police officers / staff which is cognisant of the vital operational support communications provides, particularly in a major or critical incident.

My force, like others, experienced two significant incidents of violent disorder over the summer and while we dealt with the incidents to the best of our ability, one of main things that came out of the learning from Op Navette was the lack of consistency in how individual forces respond to major incidents. Since then, I have been working with other police comms leaders to develop a national framework for major incident planning. 

There is also much more I’d like to do in the collaborative space through APComm, driving the sharing of best practice in campaign delivery and other thematic areas, where our voice is stronger if we work together.

If I were elected, I would also like to be part of developing a new digital channel strategy for APComm, in light of the changes to X and the opportunities alternative platforms present.

APComm has been hugely supportive of me during my seven years in policing - I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support and guidance of the exec committee and its members. I now want to give something back and again be part of developing and nurturing the next generation of comms leaders and practitioners.

Kate Viles

I have applied for the role as Vice Chair for APComm as I can bring 17 years’ worth of police communication experience to the role and 25 years of working in a policing environment. 

I started in the organisation as an apprentice at the age of 18 with no university qualifications, I have not let this hold me back and have progressed through the ranks gaining a wealth of experience along the way. 

My experience during my career has included organising events, press conferences, campaign launches and delivering training. All of which involved booking speakers, venues, liaising with journalists and speaking in front of large groups of people from both inside and outside the organisation. 

I found myself acting up as Head of Department during the Covid-19 pandemic, thrusting me into the unknown with responsibility for leading the local resilience forum’s communications response. From cases attracting national coverage to sensitive negotiations between production companies and bereaved families, my career has tested my skills in some of the most difficult situations. None more so than the crisis at Todbrook Resovoir, which saw 1,500 people evacuated from their homes when a dam was declared unsafe – an incident I was proud to talk about at APComm’s Academy.

I feel that one of my strongest assets is my communication skills. I have many contacts that I have built up over the years and I am Queen of networking, as my team say, I know everybody! But in my opinion, you can never know too many people and every person you meet has valued experience and advice to give. 

In the past few years particularly, I have championed police staff progression in Derbyshire and by attending national events at the College. I am passionate about this and am keen to work on creating more opportunities for CPD for police staff in the police communications arena. 

I am keen to be involved with the APComm executive committee as during my time spent in police communications I have valued and benefited from the various CPD offered, insights into policing and events organised. I have offered my opinion on what subjects could be covered at learning events and have provided feedback on how to improve events. I would like to take that one step further and be part of the organising committee to shape APComm for the future.

Amy Nagy

In 2018 I stepped into South Yorkshire Police’s press office and, after leaving the technicolour world of radio and TV, I fully expected to last about five minutes in what everyone described as ‘the dark side’. Six years on, I’ve happily proved them all wrong, and now in my role as Head of Media and Digital at Counter Terrorism Policing HQ, I still feel a surge of pride every day in being part of policing. Even in those bleakest moments that we all know so well. 

My very first day in police communications was on the APComm Press Officer course, terrified about whether I could do the job. Over the last three years I’ve become a presenter on that course, sharing what I hope are words of wisdom and some expertise about the UK’s counter terrorism efforts. 

For me, that is the value that APComm brings to our industry. It provides a space for us all, in the unique role that we do, to share ideas, discuss challenges, come up with solutions, and of course to speak openly and honestly about issues that others just don’t ‘get’. 

APComm is a powerful network of experience and fresh perspectives, but there’s more we can do.  If successful, I’d like to seek opportunities to enhance those moments when we come together, diversify opportunities and channels for conversation – capitalising on the expertise that exists but also creating a platform for those newer to police communications. 

Creating new spaces for conversations that allow for all perspectives would be a priority for me, bringing reassurance and opening the door to true support when you’re facing a tricky issue, critical incident or challenging professional relationships. Tackling problems together, not fire-fighting alone should be the ultimate aim. 

With my journalistic grounding, local force experience and now my national security policing perspective, I can offer fresh eyes on our industry and how this incredibly valuable network and association can develop in the coming years.

Shelley Smith

I am an experienced communicator having worked as part of Cheshire Constabulary’s Corporate Communications team for the past 17 years.

I started my policing career in proactive communications supporting local officers on area before moving onto our busy press desk – later overseeing the running of the desk and supervision of the team.

Within months of joining the force I hit the ground running, helping to co-ordinate the comms response to the horrific murder of Garry Newlove and the unprecedented media scrutiny that followed.

Since then I have been responsible for planning, co-ordinating and delivering communications strategies for multiple murders, serious sexual offences, the force’s first corporate manslaughter prosecution and multi-agency work tackling serious/organised crime.

I have gained extensive experience of media management, stakeholder engagement, reputation management and crisis communications and have dabbled in internal comms and campaigns work.

I led on the comms strategy for the contentious case of an officer who raped a schoolgirl whilst on duty, dealt with the outpouring of grief when we lost an officer in the Manchester Arena bombing and was responsible for the media strategy for the high-profile football abuse investigation into Barry Bennell.

I have worked on Operation Hummingbird – the investigation into baby deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital – since it launched in 2017. 

With a year-long trial approaching and the eyes of the world on the force I took on a full-time secondment as Communications Lead working closely alongside the investigation team developing and implementing our communications strategy – something that has never been done in Cheshire before.

This encompassed not only media management and stakeholder engagement but detailed logistics/planning pre-trial/at court and bespoke media advice and support to the families at the heart of this tragic case – under intense media spotlight and unbelievable public scrutiny.

The role has challenged me in so many different ways and I feel privileged to work as part of the team involved in this highly complex and very sensitive investigation. 

I am passionate about police communications; learning, sharing skills, knowledge & experience; supporting colleagues and helping to nurture a new generation of talent.

During my time at Cheshire I have presented nationally to SIOs, investigation teams and partners and have helped to devise/deliver training packages for FLOs, trainee detectives and new starters.

I also contribute, as part of Op Hummingbird, to a peer review network sharing knowledge, learning and best practice on communications issues/media handling to colleagues across the country.