How I got here
Prior to joining the PoCC in 2019, I had a background in Law Enforcement where I worked within Financial Investigation for the majority of my career.
My interest has always been in financial crime and, prior to joining the Police, I was a Counter Fraud Specialist and Senior Auditor within the National Health Service. During my time in the Police I played a significant role as part of Operation Beacon, the proactive drug investigation team and the Financial Investigation Unit.
I loved my time in Law Enforcement but, decided after 15 years I needed a different challenge and jumped at the chance to be a PoCC Regulator and NCA Officer. Since starting the role I have not looked back and I absolutely love it, mainly because I feel so passionately about POCA and telling people about how amazing it is.
My role and how I protect the public
The PoCC was created out of a need to fulfil Section 3 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (PoCA), which requires the Director General of the National Crime Agency (NCA) to provide a system for the registration, training, accreditation and monitoring of the financial investigation community in England, Wales & Northern Ireland; in accordance with its statutory obligation, associated policies, Codes of Practice and any applicable Service Level Agreements.
I am responsible, along with a team of PoCC Regulators, for overseeing this statutory function relating to approximately 4000 Law Enforcement officers from over 200 Organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland including Police Forces, HMRC, Local Authorities… and many more! The team are all experienced practitioners with a variety of Law Enforcement backgrounds who are able to share our knowledge and understanding of the Legislation to support Financial Investigators, both in the classroom and in the workplace.
Part of my role in protecting the public is to ensure that Financial Investigators are competent, supported and equipped with the appropriate skills to be in the best position to recover the proceeds of crime.
On a great day
A great day for me involves getting to interact with my colleagues, others inside the NCA and everyone I’m responsible for in my Regulatory capacity. I am happiest when I am in the classroom and interacting with learners.
In the PoCC we offer a wide range of courses including modular, virtual and in-person classroom sessions. I must admit I love the face to face interaction of an in-person classroom session where I can talk subjects through in detail, and really help learners get to grips with the intricacies of Money Laundering, Financial Analysis and Part 8 Orders.
On a typical day
There is no such thing as a typical day as a PoCC Regulator and each day can vary massively. Some days I will be working from home or in the office, other days I will be in the training classroom or speaking at conferences, either in person or on MS Teams or meeting with the organisations I regulate.
I normally start my day by dealing with a high number of emails and phone calls from Law Enforcement. These emails and phone calls can range from simple things like course details right down to complex legal questions or advice on criminal and civil investigations. Coming from a Police background, I absolutely love to chat through all things crime related and helping to support learners and the organisations that I regulate with any PoCA-related issues.
Once all the emails and calls are dealt with, I log in to the first meeting of the day. This is where I discuss general workload and course updates with the other PoCC Regulators. We each own a course and are responsible for keeping it accurate, interesting and up-to-date. When my meetings are done, I then turn my attention to reviewing the classroom training that I’ve delivered. When learners leave our classrooms they are often given intrusive powers which can include powers to search a premises, monitor bank accounts or even seize cash, so it is an essential part of my role is to ensure that each learner record is accurate and up-to-date.
