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Deputy Chief Constable Bex Smith holds over 23 years of policing experience drawn from a range of nationally significant command functions. She has executive responsibility for Transformation. Within her portfolio, DCC Smith holds responsibility for Digital, Data and Transformation.  

Deputy Chief Constable Smith joined the Police Service of Scotland in 2022 where she was appointed Assistant Chief Constable for Major Crime, Public Protection and Local Crime; and as Deputy Chief Constable held the portfolio for Major Crime and Criminal Justice, Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism.  

DCC Smith has spent 18 of her 23 years in policing in Public Protection, Major Crime, Local Crime and Serious and Organised Crime (SOC). She was Regional Head of Investigations at the National Crime Agency where she managed all SOC investigations across a wide variety of threats, including Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, Drugs, Fraud and Child Abuse. 

Prior to that, DCC Smith was a Detective Superintendent within Surrey Police with responsibility for a major ICT change programme and was also a talent lead, supporting fast-track candidates. 

DCC Smith is an experienced Strategic and Tactical Firearms Commander and has worked in professional standards. 

Scott is the lead for developing the Authority’s strategic oversight of transformational change, the impact of change activity and ensuring operational deployments of policing in Scotland retains and builds public confidence. Scott is also the lead for the Authority’s approach to the consideration of human rights, ethics and equalities. Scott was a main contributor to the ‘Emerging Technology in Policing Independent Advisory Group’ for Scottish Government and set out a framework for the ethical and rights-based adoption of technology within Policing. He recently co-led the tripartite national conversation on Live Facial Recognition in Scotland alongside partners from Police Scotland and the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner. Scott specialises in Transformation; Technology; Benefits Realisation; Portfolio, Programme and Project Management; Policy development and implementation; and Business Case appraisal. 

Debs Alderson is Co-Managing Director of Addressing Domestic Abuse CIC, dedicated to empowering action against domestic abuse. A nationally recognised policing leader, Debs recently retired after 30 years with Northumbria Police, where she led Public Protection and pioneered multi-agency safeguarding innovations. She developed the nationally adopted MATAC model to disrupt serial perpetrators and led Operation Encompass: The Next Steps. Her work spans statutory and third-sector partnerships, with a focus on whole-system approaches. At this conference, Debs will share insights on use of GPS proximity systems, as a tool to enhance victim safety and disrupt abusive behaviours. 

Sidsel Valvik-Kristensen is a seasoned IT Project Manager at Netcompany, specializing in the design and execution of mission-critical, zero-error solutions within the public safety domain. With extensive experience in managing complex, large-scale IT-projects, she has a proven track record of delivering highly reliable, error-free implementations that meet the most stringent safety and operational standards. Sidsel’s deep expertise in orchestrating collaborative, highly structured project environments make her a trusted leader in implementing solutions where precision, security, and accountability are paramount. 

Gary is a Chartered Management Consultant for Sopra Steria, currently leading AI Strategy and Transformation for the Data & AI Practice.  He has 17+ years as a technology professional working for global leading IT consultancies, strategically shaping and driving change for clients across sectors such as Government, Transport, Aerospace, Financial Services and Telecoms.  As a client partner, he seeks to understand the business problems to be solved and opportunities to be achieved, in order to advise on the best AI solution and scaling this transformative technology to unlock exceptional business value. 

Paul developed a passion for computational linguistics during his studies and joined the data science side of things as a result. He’s still active in the field of teaching at universities and works at Sopra Steria as the practice lead for the data science & AI team, working on open source based projects with a focus on creating agnostic LLM applications at clients such as the Dutch National Police.

Harry Schone is the Data Science and AI Lead at Police Scotland. He leads the Data Science Centre of Excellence, an internal team focussed on delivering efficiencies and capability utilising artificial intelligence and other advanced analytical techniques. This team have deployed solutions across multiple areas of policing and are actively working to harness the benefits of this technology for the people of Scotland. 

Ann Caple is Head of Business Development at Unilink Software, leading the company’s engagement with the public sector across the UK and Ireland. With more than 20 years’ experience delivering critical national IT systems, she is a passionate advocate for digital innovation in criminal justice. Ann has overseen the rollout of Unilink’s prisoner self-service solutions for HM Prison Service and the Northern Ireland Prison Service, as well as the introduction of Virtual Visits across all Scottish prisons—initiatives that are transforming the way services are delivered to offenders, families, and staff. Before joining Unilink, Ann held senior positions at Vocalink, where she led relationships with Bacs, Faster Payments, and the Link ATM network, working closely with government bodies and major financial institutions. 

Karyn brings a unique perspective shaped by years of experience as the Development Manager for Allied Universal® Electronic Monitoring. Her close collaboration with the Scottish Prison Service, Justice Social Work, and other partner agencies gives her deep insights into the criminal justice system. Her passion lies in showcasing electronic monitoring as more than a compliance tool, but as a key component of restorative justice, providing a way to support the reintegration of participants while also effectively supporting victims and enhancing public safety. Her goal is to expand collaborative partnerships across Scotland and globally to demonstrate this powerful impact. 

Danielle McDermott is a Chartered Psychologist and Professor of Custodial Practice at Leeds Trinity University. Her PhD in Forensic Psychology examined the relationship between impulsivity, aggression, and self-harm among male prisoners, shaping her ongoing research in self-harm, suicide, and violence in custody. Danielle’s work explores the psychological and systemic factors influencing prisoner wellbeing and safety, with publications in leading international journals. She previously served as Treatment Manager for Safer Custody at HMP Leeds, leading interventions to reduce self-harm and suicide in custody, and continues to advise national bodies on strategies to improve safety and rehabilitation in prisons. 

Henrik Alstrup holds overall responsibility for the recruitment of police officers to the Danish National Police. Deputy Chief Superintendent Henrik Alstrup commenced his career in law enforcement in 2005 as a police officer with the North Zealand Police. In 2018, he joined the National Operations Center within the Danish National Police, where he soon assumed responsibility for the development of the national dispatch system, POL-DISP. This system provides real-time operational awareness, ensures efficient resource allocation, integrates with other operational platforms, and secures structured data quality for analytical and intelligence purposes. In August 2023, he was appointed to the Danish National Police Academy management with overall responsibility for the recruitment of police officers to Danish National Police. Henrik Alstrup is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia 

Michael Campbell is recognised as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in the areas of prevention or self-harm and suicide in custodial settings. He works closely with prison psychologists and mental health specialists. Michael has also been the architect of numerous, computer based, analytical programs that help identifying those prisoners that are entering a vulnerable time in their prison sentence. This work has also been recognised by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service as “notable practice” numerous times. In 2023, Michael was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of what was then the United Kingdom’s newest prison, HMP Fosse Way, where he advises the director on prisoner welfare and well-being. 

Axon and AI – Assisting Policing & Justice Processes: Delivering results, reducing burnout, improving wellbeing

Mike is a Public Safety specialist who has worked for Axon since 2023, supporting forces to adopt new technologies and ways of working, to include evidence management systems and the use of AI services such as transcription, translation and automation of tasks to help officers and staff alike become more effective.
He has worked in the technology industry for over 20 years, with recent roles including UK Policing Lead for Microsoft, and leading the Justice & Public Safety Team at Amazon Web Services prior to his role in Axon.

Andrew began his policing career with the Metropolitan Police in 2002, transitioning into Criminal Investigations in 2004. He went on to serve in both Hampshire Constabulary and Police Scotland, holding a range of investigative roles across CID, Public Protection, Child Abuse, and Digital Forensics. Over two decades, he led or contributed to complex cases involving organised crime, human trafficking, domestic abuse, RASSO, and CSAM. He also worked closely with SOCU and County Lines teams and became a key advocate for integrating digital investigation capabilities into frontline policing.

In 2022, Andrew moved into the tech sector as an AWS migration specialist, supporting digital transformation projects across the public and private sectors. He joined Cellebrite in 2024 as an Investigations Unit Specialist, where he works with law enforcement and intelligence agencies on AI, machine learning, digital forensic innovation, and secure cloud adoption to modernise investigative workflows.

Director of Sales UKI at Cellebrite with 20 years of prior law enforcement experience, now focused on delivering enterprise software and SaaS solutions to government and security sectors. Proven success working with UKI Police Forces, Government Agencies, and Protective Services. Skilled in Digital Evidence Management, Digital Forensics, Intelligence, AI, Analytics, and Crime Mapping. Combines operational insight with commercial expertise to build strong relationships and deliver impactful solutions in complex public sector environments.

As Head of Criminal Change lab Dene leads a team of specialists in the delivery of a progressive change agenda which concentrates on technology and innovation to support the change vision for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals and supporting the overall criminal justice reform strategy.  He supports the transformation of the justice system through effective collaboration and the introduction of new technologies to improve the effectiveness of operations and the service provided to others.  His team ensures that they consider and put all users at the heart of delivery to improve their experience and the service that is received by all. This has resulted in the delivery of evidence by commission suites, remote provision of evidence functionality and the new Dundee Justice hub. 

Prof. Nancy Loucks OBE is the Chief Executive of Families Outside, a national Scottish charity that works solely on behalf of children and families affected by imprisonment. Prior to this, she worked as an Independent Criminologist, receiving her MPhil and PhD from the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge, and in 2012 was appointed as Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde’s Centre for Law, Crime and Justice. Nancy was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s 2016 New Year’s Honours List for services to Education and Human Rights.  She co-chaired the Justice & Care Workstream for the Independent Care Review and the Independent Review of the Response to Deaths in Prison in Scotland; chairs the Board of the International Coalition for Children of Incarcerated Parents (INCCIP); is a Board member of Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE; Secretary General from 2015-21); and is a member of the Global Prisoners’ Families Research Group at the Centre for Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford.  

Fiona McQueen joined the Authority in April 2021. She was appointed Vice Chair in 2024 and appointed Chair of the Authority by Scottish Ministers in March 2025.  Fiona’s career spans three decades of executive public sector leadership, primarily across the health system and latterly within the Civil Service. Fiona was appointed as an Executive Nurse Director in 1993 and has held a variety of roles, including the Chief Nursing Officer for the Scottish Government. She is passionate about good governance being at the heart of an organisation and also that people are at the heart of decision making. She has wide ranging experience in supporting organisations to transform and improve, and is committed to openness and transparency as well as reducing inequalities.  Fiona was awarded a CBE for services to the NHS in June 2021.  

Prof. Liz Aston is a Professor of Criminology at Edinburgh Napier University and was the Director of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research from 2018-2025. She has led major national and international research projects on local policing, public engagement, and emerging technologies, including the ESRC-funded INTERACT project, which examines human vs AI communication in police contact services. Liz has chaired the Independent Advisory Group on Emerging Technologies in Policing and advises multiple policing bodies across the UK and Europe. Her research sits at the intersection of justice, technology, and health, with a strong emphasis on evidence-based policy and practice. 

Calum Dundas is Deputy Chief Data Officer at Police Scotland, where he leads on Data Ethics, Governance, Strategy, and the application of Data Science and AI. With over 20 years of experience in Scottish policing, Calum played a key role in establishing Police Scotland’s Chief Data Office and delivering its Master Data Management capability. His previous positions include Data Governance Lead and Head of Data Strategy. 

As Director & Corporate Services Manager, Cheryl has responsibility for all corporate services and business support functions.  This includes delivering corporate activities in support of the 4-year Strategic Plan; developing and establishing corporate policies, practices and procedures for the office; ensuring effective management of the organisation and efficient use of its resources in pursuit of its Strategic and Operational aims, and for financial management including accounting, budget and contracts. A highly skilled professional, Cheryl has numerous years of partnership working as an analyst and within management across a variety of settings including government, police, local authorities and national bodies. 

Andrew began his career in Technology within Civil Engineering sector with a focus on technology solutions across transport systems. Following this he moved into leadership roles in Construction and Utilities sectors. 
Moving into Energy – He held senior leadership roles with a focus on Digital, Transformation and redesigned Target Operating Model development across global organisations. In September 2019 Andrew was appointed as Police Scotland’s first Chief Digital and Information Officer. Joining the Police Scotland Executive Command & Leadership Team, Andrew has overseen a wide portfolio consisting of Transformation, Digital & Data Division, Service Design and Innovation. He is the Senior Responsible Officer for a range of programmes including Digital Evidence Sharing Capability, National Body worn Video Programme and Digital Contact. 

Paul is Co-founder of Storm ID, where he leverages over 20 years of experience in leading digital and data transformation. He now focuses on AI strategy development, advising senior leadership and boards across public and private organisations on how to integrate AI into their core products, services, and business processes. Paul’s guidance is grounded in his deep experience with real-world applied AI, particularly in healthcare and the wider public sector, where he has delivered solutions that improve both patient outcomes and service efficiency 

Alison is a recognised Digital leader in Scotland with a wealth of experience of many ground-breaking digital programmes across the public sector.  She has worked with many organisations across the Justice sector including Disclosure Scotland, Scottish Prison Service, Scottish Courts and Crown Office.  Her experience also includes a 2.5 year secondment as Head of the Digital Transformation Division of the SG Digital Directorate, during which she was involved in the Digital Justice DESC programme.

Alison is a former Chair of ScotlandIS and now works as a digital transformation strategist working with public and private sector to drive digitally enabled change.  

Fiona is a justice digital transformation strategist, currently working as a Consultant with Axon. Fiona previously led Justice Transformation in the Scottish Government, supporting criminal justice organisations to deliver collaborative system-level transformation. This included the Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC), a ground-breaking £33m programme which is overhauling the way that evidence is managed and shared through the criminal justice system. She has also recently worked with SCTS as Chief Product Owner for Future Courts and AI. Fiona began her justice career as a public prosecutor, serving 19 years with Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Closing the Implementation Gap – Turning AI Ambition into Operational Reality:  Keith Dargie is Chief Digital Information Officer at COPFS, Scotland’s independent prosecution service, where he leads digital and information services across a complex national justice organisation.  He brings extensive senior executive experience across government and the public sector, with a strong track record of translating digital ambition into delivered outcomes and improved citizenfacing services.  Keith’s current priorities include the strategic delivery of innovative digital casework systems, scaling AI, data analytics and process automation from pilots to impact, and enabling practical, trustworthy digital transformation at enterprise and system level. 

Nigel is Head of Digital Services at Scottish Prison Service and has held past roles as Head of Health and Justice; Governor, HMP Glenochil & Deputy Director Prisons.

Nigel’s objectives include the implementing digital transformation across the SPS to upskill frontline staff and include those in custody to embrace digital inclusion. Developing a new case management platform to support the custodial journey & Digital Ethics in Justice.

Interests outside of work include Cycling, Karate (2nd Dan Black Belt Shotokan), Rugby & Japanese Cooking.

With over 20 years’ experience as a senior leader in social justice in Scotland, Kate is a well-known and highly-respected figure dedicated to improving the criminal justice system for victims and advocating for their rights. Her work is informed by victims’ own experiences, and a deep desire for this to drive legislative and institutional progress. 

Kate has a background in transformational change within complex systems and organisations, and has led a number of organisations in a variety of sectors.  Originally a youth worker in the 1990s working with young people in the Glasgow and Renfrewshire areas, Kate widened her role to lead policy, influencing, and analytics functions before moving into transforming systems and organisational change.  For many years she was a senior leader within Barnardo’s, a leading children’s charity in the UK, where she held many roles including UK Programme Director.  

From 2014-2017 Kate led Visualise Scotland, a charity providing supported accommodation and social care for people with disabilities and complex needs before moving to Victim Support Scotland. 

Whist in Victim Support Scotland Kate has been a prominent, persuasive and effective leader regarding many significant national initiatives and improvements.  Kate is also currently a member of the Criminal Court Rules Council. 

William Webster is Professor of Public Policy and Management at the Stirling Management School, University of Stirling. He is a Director of CRISP (the Centre for Research into Information Surveillance and Privacy), a research centre dedicated to understanding the social impacts and consequences of technologically mediated surveillance. Professor Webster has research expertise in the policy processes, regulation and governance of surveillance cameras, privacy and ethics, as well as public policy relating to data protection and eGovernment. He is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Information Polity, co-chair of the Scottish Privacy Forum and the EGPA (European Group of Public Administration) Permanent Study Group on eGovernment.  

Andy brings 16 years of policing experience from two different forces to his role as Strategy and Innovation Director for Policing UK at Salesforce. Having joined Salesforce in December 2021 as an Enterprise Account Executive, he now focuses on helping customers across the Justice System. 
 
Prior to his current role, Andy served as a Chief Inspector for Digital and Innovation at Lancashire Constabulary, where he led major projects in Robotics Process Automation, Digital Mobility, and a pioneering voice analytics platform for Contact Management. 
 
Andy’s passion lies in citizen-centric transformation. He is dedicated to improving victim and citizen support, ultimately building trust and confidence in the Criminal Justice Service.