Ben Chivers, Hampshire Police

Thesis title: Nudging Up Defendant Court Appearances with Text Message Reminders: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Ben joined Hampshire Constabulary as a Police Constable in 1999 and moved to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in 2003. He has subsequently been promoted through the Detective ranks of Sergeant, Inspector and Chief Inspector, with a variety of experience including serious and organised crime, covert policing, sexual offences and criminal justice. Ben is currently the Detective Chief Inspector responsible for the CID of West of Hampshire, including Southampton City. He is also responsible for the CID on the Isle of Wight, is one of the forces senior investigating officers and leads the forces response to burglary.

In 2016 Ben embarked on the MSt in Applied Criminology and Police Management at the University of Cambridge and is due to graduate on July 21st 2018. He describes his experience as challenging, amazing, rewarding and the single biggest investment that policing has made in him. He also believes it has altered his way of thinking, his approach to problem solving and decision making. This along with the contacts he has made with university supervisors and fellow students has made him a stronger and more valuable leader.

Jonathan Cumberbatch, Staffordshire Police

Thesis title: Reducing Witness Non-Appearances With Text Message Reminders of Court Dates: A Randomised Controlled Trial.

Alex Murray OBE, T/Assistant Chief Constable West Midlands Police

@ACCMurray

Alex Murray graduated from Birmingham University in 1996 and joined West Midlands Police where he worked in CID and uniform roles in the cities Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton.
As a senior investigating officer he led complex cases and set up performance regimes that linked murder investigation to neighbourhood policing. He has extensive experience within Counter Terrorism. In 2008 graduated from Cambridge University, with a Masters degree in Criminology. His thesis developed the understanding of police legitimacy within Muslim communities. He is a firearms and public order commander. He has been the Commander of Birmingham East and Solihull Local Policing Units where he worked to integrate public sector agencies. He is now responsible for crime departments within West Midlands Police. He is passionate about involving the community in reducing crime has led for West Midlands Police on preventing violent extremism.

He is the founder of the Society of Evidence Based Policing and has introduced randomised control trials into West Midlands Police as a means of understanding what works in reducing harm and providing value for money. He is currently working with the Behavioural Insights Team to test the impact of behavioural science on Criminal Justice outcomes. In 2014 he received the Superintendents award for Excellence in Policing and has been recognised by George Mason University’s Centre for Evidence Based Policing. He is a visiting scholar at Cambridge University and Research Fellow at Huddersfield University’s Centre for Applied Criminology and Policing Centre.
In 2017 he was awarded an OBE