NPCC National Out of Court Resolutions Event
9th October 2025
Banking Hall
14 Cornhill
London EC3V 3ND
T/Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dr Alison Heydari BSc (Hons), MSc, PGCE, PhD
Alison joined Hampshire Constabulary at the end of 2000 where she started a varied career including working as a detective in CID, and in uniform roles including Public Protection, city commander and emergency response commander. Alison has managed impactive community issues and driven the strategic response to hate crime and harmful practices as force lead. Alison practiced as a trained Negotiator for eight years and is also a Gold Public Order Public Safety Commander leading on events such as Pride in London. Her interest in the response to and impact of Domestic Abuse has been realised in her influence on policy development, tactical delivery and academic research.
Alison joined the Metropolitan Police Service in June 2020 as a Frontline Policing Commander with additional pan London responsibility for a number of portfolios including neighbourhood policing. Alison is the NPCC Chief Officer lead for Out of Court Resolutions. Her appointment as Director for the Police Race Action Plan in September 2023 sees her driving a national change programme, necessary to respond to critically low levels of trust and confidence in Black communities.
Alison’s policing roles have been enhanced by secondments to His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire and Rescue and teaching at John Jay Exchange College of Criminal Justice, New York. She has also carried out work in San Paulo, Brazil supporting victims of people trafficking. Her passions centre on utilising the tenets of procedural justice to build legitimacy in policing, building community trust and confidence. Her published papers include those on Domestic Abuse and applying the pillars of procedural justice to community engagement.
Academic achievements include a Post Graduate Certificate of Education, 1st Class Honors BSc in Social Policy, MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice and PhD from Portsmouth University.
Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson DBE
The Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson DBE was appointed Minister of State in the Home Office on 8 July 2024.
She was elected as the MP for Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham at the general election in July 2024 and has represented Hull North, as Hull’s first female MP, since May 2005. Diana was Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee from 2021 until 2024.
Under the Labour government between 2005 and 2010 Diana was a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Children, Schools and Families and a government whip.
Between 2010 and 2015 Diana held a number of front bench roles including in the shadow Home Office team.
She was named backbencher of the year in 2018 for her work to secure a public inquiry into the NHS contaminated blood scandal. In 2020 Diana received a Damehood for her political and charitable work.
HMI Roy Wilsher HMICFRS
Roy began his career in the Fire Service in 1981, in North London. He became Senior Divisional Fire Safety Officer and was responsible for 11 boroughs in North and West London.
Roy became a Chartered Engineer in 2000 and was project lead for the restructure of London Fire Brigade in 2001. He became Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety in London in 2002.
In 2004 Roy joined Hertfordshire as Deputy Chief Fire Officer and was appointed as Chief Fire Officer in 2005.
From April 2013 to March 2017, he was also Chief Executive for Hertfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner and had numerous successes within this service.
In 2017, Roy was appointed as the first Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council.
Roy has played and continues to play a significant role on a national and international level. His achievements include being the strategic lead for the UK rescue response for the Japan earthquake and tsunami in 2011 as well as being a member of the Expert Panel and advising the government following the Grenfell tragedy.
Roy was awarded the Queen’s Fire Service Medal QFSM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2013 and was awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list in 2007.
Roy was appointed as HM Inspector of Constabulary and HM Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services in October 2021.Alison Hernandez, Police & Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall
Now approaching her second decade as Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Alison Hernandez is one of the UK’s few long-standing Commissioners. She is the national co-Chair of both the Serious & Organised Crime portfolio, and more recently, Criminal Justice.
Overseeing the country’s largest geographic policing area, Alison has taken an innovative approach, with some groundbreaking schemes such as one of the first to trial virtual courts, ‘CJ & You’—an essential guide for victims seeking justice—and the award-winning ‘Prisoners Building Homes,’ contributing to reducing reoffending rates to below 5%. Alison also headed the local, strategic Criminal Justice response to the riots of 2024, the first area to scrutinise whether two-tier policing existed, pre-empting the government’s approach.
As Chair of both Devon and Cornwall’s Local Criminal Justice Board and the South West Reducing Reoffending Partnership, Alison is relentless in her work to bring partners together, with the collective aim of ensuring fair and proportionate justice for all.
Her recent work in successfully helping Devon and Cornwall Police address its performance issues has led to her working closely with His Majesty’s Inspectorate and policing’s professional body, the College of Policing, to secure strong police leadership.
Alison is proud of her Devon roots, having been born and raised in Torquay, and in her downtime regularly enjoys exploring the natural beauty of Devon and Cornwall, particularly if the day ends at a pub!
Alison Lowe OBE
Alison Lowe is the Deputy Mayor for Police and Crime in West Yorkshire. She started her role in July 2021 and was appointed by the new Metro Mayor, Tracy Brabin, because of her extensive voluntary sector, political and policing experience over a 30+ year period.
Alison worked in the Third Sector for more than 30 years, most recently as Chief Executive of Touchstone, a Mental Health Charity working across West Yorkshire. Touchstone work with and for people that are affected by mental health problems, and they specialise in working with people from different cultural backgrounds.
Alison has been involved in local government for 29 years and was a councillor with the Labour Party. Alison was also the Chair of the Police and Crime Panel, the body that scrutinises the performance of the Police and Crime Commissioner and represents the interests of all the 2.4 million people across West Yorkshire. Alison was the Deputy Lord Mayor of Leeds in 2003-4 and was made an Honorary Alderwoman of the city in 2020. In this role, Alison was asked to review Leeds’ statues following the BLM protests.
Alison is a Non-Executive Director with Leeds Community Health NHS Trust.
Over the years, Alison has been a well-known campaigner on equal rights and chaired the Leeds Domestic Violence Forum that raises awareness of domestic violence against women and children by known men for over 25 years.
Alison Lowe holds an MA in Medieval Studies from Leeds University and a BA in History and was given an Honorary Doctor of Laws in 2022. She was also awarded an OBE in the January 2022 Queen’s Honours List. Alison has 2 grown up children, Adam and Rosy and grandchildren Mae and Oscar.
Baljit Ubhey OBE
Baljit Ubhey qualified as a solicitor in 1994 having joined the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) as a legal trainee in 1992. She has prosecuted the full range of criminal cases and worked on a wide variety of legal and policy issues. Since 2004 she has held many leadership roles within the CPS including 13 years in the role of Chief Crown Prosecutor in different geographical regions including London. As Chief Crown Prosecutor she has overseen significant high-profile cases, delivered performance improvements and implemented major change programmes. Since 2017 she has worked in CPS Headquarters holding a number of Director level posts, with responsibilities including corporate strategy, business planning and legal policy development. She is currently a member of the Executive team at the CPS and Director of Policy.
Penelope Gibbs
Penelope Gibbs worked in radio production and at the BBC before being inspired to influence social change in the third sector. She set up the Voluntary Action Media Unit at TimeBank before joining the Prison Reform Trust to run the Out of Trouble – a five year campaign to reduce child and youth imprisonment. Under her watch the number of children (under 18 year olds) in prison in the UK fell by a third.
Penelope also sat as a magistrate. She set up Transform Justice in 2012. In her spare time she enjoys listening to political podcasts and hiking.
Fionnuala Ratcliffe
Fionnuala Ratcliffe is Deputy Director for Transform Justice. Fionnuala leads Transform Justice’s work promoting the use of ways to resolve crime without going to court. She has conducted research on public and victim views of out of court resolutions and written good practice guides for police forces on how to increase effective use of these options. She also co-authored reports on assaults on police and NHS staff, use of detention in police custody and the overuse of court remand for children.
Fionnuala also leads Transform Justice's CourtWatch London programme which brings members of the public into magistrates' courts to observe criminal hearings and report back what they see. Fionnuala previously worked as a research consultant and in policy and communications for the Restorative Justice Council before joining Transform Justice in 2018. She is a trustee of the charity Unlock and is a volunteer for the charity Circles South East and the Tower Hamlets police community scrutiny panel.
Chief Constable Sacha Hatchett
Sacha Hatchett is the Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary, a position she has held since March 2024. Prior to this appointment, she served as the Deputy Chief Constable in Lancashire. Her policing career has been largely rooted in North Wales Police, where she progressed through the ranks to Assistant Chief Constable. She also spent 18 months as Assistant Chief Constable, Head of Crime and Criminal Justice, with Cheshire Constabulary.
In March 2025, Sacha was appointed as the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for Criminal Justice, reflecting her longstanding dedication to this area. She previously held the NPCC portfolio for Public Health Approaches in Policing, championing innovative and preventative strategies across the service.
Alexander Beerjeraz
Alexander is the National Delivery Lead for User Voice, a charity exists to reduce the damage caused by the justice system: to victims, those in the system and their families, communities and to the public purse. He joined the organisation in 2022, drawing on his own experiences within the system. Starting as an Engagement Team Member, Alex quickly became involved in high-impact initiatives such as the Public Patient Voice London, HMI Probation Inspections, and the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).
Since then, Alex has led significant projects, including the Race Equality Thematic in Probation Services, User Voice's acclaimed prison councils, and a Cabinet Office-funded evaluation of Police Drug Diversion Schemes. In his current role, he oversees the national delivery for User Voice, managing a team of lived-experience consultants who work on a wide range of projects within the criminal justice system.
Alex has recently contributed to the Metropolitan Police Service’s new two-tier framework by providing collaborative support rooted in lived experience, ensuring community voices inform policing policy. He has also worked alongside HMI Probation Inspectorate on their youth Out-of-Court Resolutions work, helping shape more inclusive, responsive approaches for young people navigating the justice system.
Eleazar Zadok
Eleazar is a Lived Experience Consultant at UserVoice, joining the organisation in 2024 after his release from prison. He brings valuable insight from his own journey through the criminal justice system, which he now uses to support meaningful change in services for others navigating similar paths.
Eleazar is a key part of the London Public Patient Voice (PPV) project, working across prisons, police custody suites, court custody, and community settings. He helps gather and represent the voices of people in contact with the justice system, particularly around their experiences of healthcare, mental health, and diversion services. This work informs detailed insight reports and co-produced recommendations for NHS and health and justice leaders across London.
In addition to his core role, Eleazar has worked directly with young people to explore their experiences of Out-of-Court Resolutions, helping shape more responsive and youth-informed approaches. He is especially passionate about youth justice, trauma and mental health in young Black men, and improving rehabilitation pathways for people in prison and those re-entering the community.
Eleazar works alongside a team of consultants, all with lived experience, and is committed to using that experience to challenge systems, promote equity, and amplify the voices too often overlooked.
Elizabeth Lydon
Elizabeth is a Senior Support Worker with a First-Class Youth Justice degree, bringing both professional knowledge and lived experience to her work.
She previously worked as a Lived Experience Consultant with User Voice, delivering projects nationwide, including with NHS PPV in London and supporting HMI Probation Thematic Inspections.
Elizabeth is passionate about empowering individuals, amplifying lived experience, and driving meaningful change in residential care and justice services..
Fionnuala Gordon
Experienced criminal justice professional working extensively in prison-related roles for over thirty years. Regular visitor to prisons, courts and police custody settings in England and Wales, resulting in a comprehensive knowledge of the justice system.
In current role, at the charity One Small Thing, responsible for trauma-informed programmes, delivered across His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). Also volunteer as a member of the Homicide Service Advisory Panel for Victim Support and as a Board Trustee for the charity Spark Inside.
Previously employed as an academic in Higher Education, teaching criminology to postgraduate level and prior to this as a Prison Inspector working for His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons. During a five-year period at HMIP, attended over eighty inspections, where custodial settings were assessed against a range of indicators, to provide independent scrutiny and report on findings. Before this, as the Director of Services for the national charity Pact, managed a national team working in over thirty prisons across England and Wales.
Professor Alex Stevens
Alex Stevens is Professor in Criminology in the Centre for Criminological Research at the University of Sheffield. He is a former member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and former President of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy. He leads the PDD evaluation which has been funded by the Cabinet Office to find out if and how police-led drug diversion schemes work.
Dr Paul Quinton
Dr Paul Quinton is currently the interim research lead in the College of Policing. During Paul’s 27-year career as a government social researcher, he has published over 50 academic journal articles, book chapters and official reports. In 2018, he and his co-authors received the Radzinowicz Prize for the British Journal of Criminology article that contributed the most to knowledge of criminal justice issues and the development of criminology. In 2020, he was seconded to the National Police Coordination Centre to be the bronze operational lead in Operation Talla for the emergency public health regulations during the first Covid lockdown.
Chief Supt Jamie Daniels
Jamie joined the police in 2002, working for Greater Manchester police for ten years before transferring to the Public Protection Division. In 2013, Jamie became a Senior Investigating Officer, dealing with homicides and large-scale enquiries for five years before being seconded to work on the Manchester Arena attack in 2017.
In 2019, Jamie was promoted to Detective Superintendent in the city of Manchester where he had responsibility for all serious crime and vulnerability investigations. In 2022, Jamie became GMP’s Vulnerable Adult lead. In 2023, Jamie moved to the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Taskforce to develop the Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan.
In February 2024, Jamie became the Crime & Criminal Justice Delivery Lead for the College of Policing.