John is a retired Chief Superintendent from Thames Valley Police. He served for 30 years and during his service held a number of prestigious roles including Head of Operations and Head of Crime. He was also the Commander at Northern Oxfordshire and at Milton Keynes.
When he retired, the National Superintendents’ Association awarded him a lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his contribution to operational policing.
John now works for a registered charity called Thames Valley Partnership. In 2010, supported by the Vodafone Foundation, John commenced the TecSOS project in the UK. The project is run on a ‘not-for-profit’ basis and enables victims of domestic abuse to summon help in an emergency by use of a specially adapted mobile phone.
The device has been used by over 10,000 UK victims and 45,000 victims worldwide. The device is live across 35 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales and is also live in 7 countries.
Two UK police forces, South Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire, are currently piloting the use of the TecSOS handset to protect high risk victims of child sexual exploitation. Subject to a positive evaluation, is anticipated that the service will be offered nationally.
