“I was absolutely astonished to win the ACIA’s National Award in 2014. I was nominated for the Problem Profile I had developing in relation to child sexual exploitation in Rochdale. This was a piece of work that I became totally engrossed in and I never thought that something I had done would suddenly get this kind of recognition. One of the “prizes” for winning the award was to present your work at the International Crime and Intelligence Analysis conference in Manchester in February 2015.  Presenting on this scale was something new to me and well outside my comfort zone.  But it could not have gone better. That conference was an amazing experience and I made contacts with many other analysts working on CSE in other force areas. This has been really beneficial and helped me expand my knowledge base and look for examples of best practice in other forces.

I didn’t think anything was going to top that conference. But then the ACIA announced the I had also won the International award that would be presented in Phoenix, Arizona in May 2015. I cannot describe how amazing Phoenix was.  It was simply analyst heaven!!!

There is an opening ceremony similar to the Olympic games where I was asked to carry the British flag and then there were four days of amazing seminars. The speakers included analysts from the CIA, NCIS and FBI as well as police departments and sheriff’s offices. It was great to discover some of the similarities that UK intelligence analysts experience with those in the US and also an eye opener to see some of the differences. There were also several training courses available if you attended certain seminars which were really very valuable so I have come away from the conference with two new training certificates to add to my CV.  The seminars covered a wide range of subjects from very operational analysis of a prostitution ring to strategic analysis courses.

There was also an exhibition area with stands from IBM, Lexis Nexis, Geofeedia, Wynyard, Track Group, America Military University, the list goes on.  So I came back with hundreds of free pens, notebooks, mouse mats, neoprene bottle and can holders!

I was lucky enough to have two days after the conference before flying back home so I was able to explore Phoenix.  It really was the trip of a lifetime (excluding my honeymoon) and I feel so lucky to have been part of that. 

As a result of both these conferences I have been asked to present at others.  I have also met so many amazing analysts and I now have contacts spanning the whole of the UK and beyond.  Before I was nominated for the ACIA award I would not have believed that I would ever have done any of the things I have done in the last six months.  Presenting to rooms full of hundreds of people including Chief Constables and attending international conferences are things that didn’t happen to analysts in small northern towns!  But simply because of that nomination to the ACIA I’ve had the most amazing six months of my career.  I hope the ACIA continue to run these awards so that all the analysts out there have something to strive for and the chance earn this recognition.”