Hampshire and Thames Valley share ICT director

Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police have appointed a joint Information and Communication Technology (ICT) director.

The two forces said the appointment of John Hall represents the first time such a joint role has been created.

Mr Hall, who has almost 30 years’ experience in IT, primarily in a financial services background, will be based at Hampshire Constabulary headquarters in Winchester but will divide his time between the two forces. He will manage approximately 320 staff across the two forces.

Mr Hall’s key priorities will be to:

• Provide overall strategic direction for all police information systems across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and the Thames Valley.
• Develop IT skills, knowledge and experience across, and for the benefit of, both forces.
• Improve service resilience and availability.
• Identify and deliver improvements in operational effectiveness and efficiency.

Mr Hall, 57, said: “I am keen to explore ways to better utilise our skills and experience to cope with the increasing demands put upon the police service and I will also be seeking opportunities to improve our collective performance and delivery capabilities.”

Vice-chair of Hampshire Police Authority, councillor Adrian Collett, said: “We have great hopes that this will help reduce costs, plus achieve better value for money and faster progress for both forces in this vital area of work. The appointment of this joint director of ICT is an important part of making this happen.”