6 October 2026
Record of actions and decisions
Title: Chief Officer's Management Board - Strategic
Date: Tuesday 6 October 2026 at 1pm
Venue: Clift Room, Sutton Road HQ
Attendees
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| CC Tim Smith | Chief Constable |
| DCC Peter Ayling | Deputy Chief Constable |
| ACC Nigel Brookes | Local Policing Directorate |
| ACC Tracey Quiller | Central Operations Directorate |
| A/ACC Richard Woolley | Rep. Crime Directorate |
| ACC Simon Wilson | Serious Crime Directorate |
| ACO Richard Leceister | Director of HR and L&D |
| ACO Claire Medhurst | Director of Support Services Directorate |
| ACO Gavin McKinnon | Director of Corporate Communications |
| DCS Jon Armory | Head of PSD |
| PSE Jonathan Castle | Chief Finance Officer |
| D/Supt Nikki Ross (item 3) | Public Protection |
| PSE Matthew Chinavicharana-Mole (item 4) | IT Business Engagement |
| Ch/Insp Omid Changizi (item 5) | Strategic Prevention |
| PSE Scott Ashby (item 6) | Business Manager SCD |
| D/Supt Rob Coan (item 7) | Director of Intelligence SCD |
| DCI Ellie Miller (item 8) | Proactive CID |
| PSE Sonya Gransden | Chief of Staff |
| PSE Catherine Hughes (minutes) | Executive Assistant to CC |
| In attendance: | |
| DS Leanne Carter |
Staff Officer to ACC |
| PS Faye Murphy | Staff Officer to ACC |
| PSE Karen Sandland | Staff Officer to ACO |
| Apologies: | |
| ACC Simon Thompson |
1. Approval of the record from Tuesday 22 September 2026
The record of the previous meeting was approved.
2. Matters arising/action updates
16/26 - the update was noted and carried forward to March 2027.
3. Families First Partnership update
D/Supt Ross presented the briefing paper as previously shared providing an update on the statutory Families First reforms. The Families First Partnership Programme introduces major reforms to children’s safeguarding, with Kent Police required to establish 4 Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams to support earlier intervention, stronger information sharing and coordinated decision-making. The longer-term aim is to improve outcomes for children and families while reducing demand on policing and wider safeguarding services. Operational launch expected by the end of January 2027.
New action:
ACC Thompson to review the scorecards across both child protection partnerships and recommend to DCC Ayling 3 force-level measures for tracking, including an appropriate serious adverse incident measure.
4. IT projects quarterly update
PSE Chinavicharana-Mole joined the meeting via Teams and presented the IT projects quarterly update as previously shared providing an update on automation roadmap, contact-management technology and data transformation. The update was noted and there were no actions.
5. Drug testing rooms
Ch/Insp Changizi joined the meeting via Teams to present the Drug Testing Room proposal paper as previously shared. Chief Officers were asked approve option 2 - the continuation of in-house drug testing that complies with national good practice guidance and the potency risk gravity matrix which will provide 6 dedicated drug testing rooms across divisions. Capital spend of £72,630 is required to fully deliver the recommended option.
Chief Officers agreed the need for dedicated facilities and APPROVED the funding in principle and the commencement of works. Ch/Insp Changizi was asked to revisit the number and location of rooms, prioritising Tonbridge and assessing every custody site.
6. SCD estates accomodation
PSE Ashby joined the meeting to present both SCD papers as previously shared.
Digital Forensics Hub
The review of the hub at Maidstone Police Station concluded that the current West Division Digital Forensic Hub (DFH) no longer meets the operational and technical requirements of the service.
Five options were considered and Chief Officers APPROVED option 4: Create a new West Division DFH on the second floor of McCann House to provide the necessary infrastructure and operational environment, noting this will involve the displacement of 2 smaller teams.
This has been costed at an investment of £397,074 for the DF Hub, and an investment of £35,000 for the renovations required for the displaced teams.
The Board stressed that the hub must be aligned with the wider digital forensics platform and that technical complexities could affect delivery timing. The Estates team were given a further 3 weeks to check for better accommodation or sequencing options; and if material issues arise, the matter is to return for an extraordinary discussion.
Surveillance Operations Room/Covert Support
This item is redacted due to operational sensitivities.
7. High Street Organised Crime Unit
Supt Coan joined the meeting via Teams to present the paper as previously shared seeking Chief Officer approval to establish a collaborative HSOCU and acceptance of Home Office grant funding of a total of £2.007 million for Kent over the 3-year programme, comprising £1.375 million for Kent Police and £632,000 for Kent Trading Standards, with equivalent funding awarded to Essex.
Chief Officers APPROVED the commencement of the resourcing of the HSOCU in line with the Kent contribution of 2 DCs and 2 PCs, together with .5 of a DI, .5 of a DS, .5 of a PSE Research and Development Officer and .5 of a PSE Crime Analyst.
8. Live Facial Recognition
DCI Miller joined the meeting via Teams to present the paper as previously shared comparing purchasing Kent’s own live facial recognition capability against borrowing national vans.
Chief Officers discussed the options proposed in the paper and AGREED in principle that Kent Police should develop its own live facial recognition capability (option 1).
Chief Officers noted further work is required on the practicalities, and it was agreed to test national availability and gather operational data while developing the business case for approval at Strategic Change Board with options covering procurement, IT integration, deployment frequency, 5-year affordability and alignment with Essex.
9. Any other business
The chief constable highlighted the recently circulated CPOSA survey and reminded Chief Officers to make time to complete the survey if they had not already done so.
CLOSED SESSION - no record taken
Date of next meeting
Tuesday 3 November 2026, 1pm, Clift Room.