Alison joined Hampshire Constabulary in 2000 entering the Home Office Accelerated Promotion Scheme for Graduates as a student officer.  Her varied career as a detective and in uniform roles include Public Protection, geographic commander and emergency response commander. Alison has managed impactive community issues, driven the strategic response to hate crime, harmful practices and improving victim care.  Alison was a crisis Negotiator for eight years. Secondments to His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire and Rescue and as visiting professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York have enhanced her policing experience. She has also carried out work in San Paulo, Brazil supporting victims of people trafficking. Alison joined the chief officer team in the Metropolitan Police Service in June 2020.  Her role as Frontline Policing Commander came with additional pan London responsibility for neighbourhood policing across London where she initiated innovative community engagement practice. Alison became the national Chief Officer lead for Out of Court Resolutions in 2021.  Her appointment as Director for the Police Race Action Plan in 2023 sees her driving a national programme of work necessary to address critically low levels of trust and confidence in Black communities. Her passion for utilising the tenets of procedural justice to meet the need for greater equity in the criminal justice system is reflected in her national roles, academic research on Domestic Abuse and published papers relating to community engagement.

Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton is the executive lead for Policing Together. ACC Paton’s portfolio consists of the following business areas: Policing Together, Partnerships, Prevention and Community Wellbeing (PPCW). ACC Paton joined Central Scotland Police in June 1991. She was appointed to the rank of Chief Superintendent in July 2020 and served as Divisional Commander for the Lothians and Scottish Borders (J) Division, having previously led the Force Middle Office Remodelling, a Service wide transformation project. Catriona was promoted to ACC in June 2024.

Prof. Hutchison undertook his scientific training by completing an Honours degree in Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Stirling and went on to study an MSc in Drug Design and Biomedical Science before undertaking a PhD examining the toxicology of inhaled particles at Napier University. In 2004 he began his post-doctoral career with the Medical Research Council in the Human Reproductive Sciences Unit, where he held two posts. Prof. Hutchison is Dean of School of Applied Sciences with responsibility for Life Sciences, Social Sciences, Psychology, Teacher Education and Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences. In addition to leading the School, Prof. Hutchison is a member of the University Senior Leadership Team, Lead for the Borderlands Region and City Deal Mountain Bike Innovation Centre project, and Chair of the University Environmental Sustainability Strategy Group. Prof. Hutchison has been an independent scientific advisor to the UK Government for more than 10 years and currently holds membership of FSA Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment; Defra’s College of Scientific Experts; and is a member of the FSA and Office for Product Safety & Standards registers of specialists. Previous memberships include Defra’s Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee (HSAC), the NANoREG UK steering group, and UK Government Nanotechnologies Strategy Forum. Prof. Hutchison contributes to leadership across the sector by Chairing the Scottish Institute for Policing Research Board of Governance and is Chair of the Edinburgh Exchange Initiative, and membership of the MASTS Governing Council. He is an active member of the Scottish Council of Deans for Education, leading the expert sub-committee focusing on STEM/STEAM education.

Liz Aston is a Professor of Criminology at Edinburgh Napier University and has been the Director of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR) since 2018. Her expertise centres on local policing and her current research focuses on technology in policing, and the intersect between policing and drugs. In 2021 Liz was awarded an ESRC Open Call Grant as Principal Investigator for the INTERACT project. In addition she is a Co-Investigator on the EPSRC-funded 3PO project and on the Scottish Drug Checking project. Liz has a strong record of collaborative research on policing both in Scotland and in Europe and is experienced in knowledge exchange and building research-practitioner relationships. In 2020 she was appointed by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice to establish and Chair an Independent Advisory Group on Emerging Technologies in Policing. Liz is the co-editor of Palgrave’s Critical Policing Studies Series and sits on a number of governance and advisory boards, including for the ESRC Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre, Scottish Violence Reduction Unit and Police Scotland’s Drug Strategy Board. Prior to her SIPR role, she was Head of Social Sciences at Edinburgh Napier University.