Opal: Tackling Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime

Amanda joined West Mercia Police in 1992 and throughout her career has held various posts. She spent the first 11 years of her service gaining an invaluable amount of experience and knowledge across a variety of roles as a police constable.

In 2003 she was promoted to sergeant and, since then, across several ranks, has led teams in delivering critical services to communities. She has held the responsibility for intelligence and proactive functions and has been a Senior Investigating Officer as part of the Force Serious and Organised Crime Unit.

In 2008, seconded to the West Midlands Regional Intelligence Unit, she led the development of the critical processes around identifying and disrupting Organised Crime Groups. In addition, she has led the delivery of policing operations on a local level as a Local Policing Area Commander. She has also held the roles of Head of Public Protection and Head of Operational Support for West Mercia Police and Warwickshire Police. She has been a Tactical Firearms Commander and is now a Specialist Strategic Firearms Commander.

Amanda has a bachelor’s in science with honours in crime and criminology.

Amanda was appointed as Deputy Chief Constable for West Mercia Police in February 2017 having previously been Assistant Chief Constable for Local Policing, since October 2014, for Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police. She joined Gwent Police in October 2019 as Deputy Chief Constable, and was appointed as Chief Constable for North Wales in October 2022. She is the Chair of British Association of Women in Policing (BAWP).

She has national portfolio responsibilities for:

• Police National Database
• Acquisitive Crime
• VAWG – Wales
• Criminal Justice – Wales

Owain joined North Wales Police in 1998 and has enjoyed a varied career. The majority of the roles he has held have been within neighbourhood and patrol policing, enabling him to focus on partnership working, an area he feels passionate about.

As the Head of Local Policing for North Wales Police, Owain commanded a large team of officers and staff and was responsible for improving investigative standards and ensuring victims were provided with the highest possible quality of service. He also oversaw the Force’s Prevention Hub, collaborating with partners and communities to reduce the impact of criminality.

As a member of the Force’s Gold command cadre he has overseen the response to numerous critical incidents and major incidents. He is an accredited Strategic Firearms and Gold Public Order commander.

During August 2026 Owain became the Head of Unit at Opal and is looking forward to continuing to strengthen the relationship between policing and partners.

His responsibilities within his role as Head of Opal include:

• Setting and delivering the strategy for Opal.
• Enhancing collaboration and performance delivery.
• Heading up the unit and leading on engagement with national and international partners.
• Enhancing and developing innovative and collaborative ways of working to tackle SOAC and related threats.

Stephanie joined West Mercia Police in 2013 and has worked in various roles with the vast majority of her experience across intelligence functions.

Stephanie has worked in a number of intelligence roles to support a wide range of threat areas including firearms and the use of predictive analysis to support the apprehension of offenders and the location of missing persons.

Stephanie joined Opal in 2019 at its inception and during this time has supported Opal’s continued growth as a functionality which delivers a clear operational intelligence focus in support of tackling serious and organised acquisitive crime nationally.  

Stephanie has a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from the University of Birmingham.

Her responsibilities within her role as Head of Intelligence include:

• Leading the Organised Retail Crime functionality.
• Heading up the intelligence and analysis functions within Opal.
• Maximising data and intelligence opportunities across policing and partners.
• Enhancing and developing innovative and collaborative ways of working to tackle SOAC and related threats.

Kate is a dedicated and experienced police officer, seconded from Thames Valley Police, bringing over two decades of policing expertise. Since joining the police in 2002, she has served in both Wiltshire and Thames Valley Police, working across all ranks in uniformed and investigative roles.

With a deep-rooted passion for tackling acquisitive crime, Kate has spent a significant portion of her career focusing on organised crime groups involved in burglaries, vehicle crime, and robbery—crimes she believes have the greatest impact on communities. Her expertise extends to working in drug tasking teams at various ranks, where she also served as a drug expert witness. As a detective sergeant, she led Thames Valley Police’s approach to rape and serious sexual offences, demonstrating her commitment to protecting vulnerable victims and driving impactful change.

Beyond operational policing, Kate has taken on leadership roles in strategic policing initiatives. She has led projects aimed at reducing demand in policing and has served as a staff officer to senior chief officers, influencing policy and operational effectiveness.

Currently serving as Head of Operations at Opal, Kate plays a pivotal role in driving collaborative efforts to combat serious and organised acquisitive crime (SOAC) and related threats. Her responsibilities include:

• Leading joint operational activities in partnership.
• Heading up the operational delivery functions within Opal.
• Maximising data and intelligence opportunities across policing and partners.
• Enhancing and developing innovative and collaborative ways of working to tackle SOAC and associated threats.

Lawrence is an experienced police officer with 35 years of public service, combining military and policing careers.

His policing experience spans over three decades and includes service with Avon and Somerset Police and Wiltshire Police, where he has held a variety of investigative and leadership roles.

During 21 years with Avon and Somerset Police, Lawrence developed his investigative expertise and qualified as a Detective. He later spent eight years with Wiltshire Police, progressing to Detective Sergeant within Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) intelligence development, before being promoted to Detective Inspector, where he led a specialist Cyber and Digital Crime Team.

Lawrence holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from The Open University, which he completed while serving as a police officer.

Alongside his experience in serious and organised crime, cybercrime and digital investigations, he has also worked in the field of Organised Immigration Crime. In this capacity, he collaborated with the Home Office at a regional level to target organised crime groups involved in facilitating illegal immigration and immigration crime generally.

In September 2025, Lawrence joined the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) National Intelligence Unit for Serious Acquisitive Crime (Opal) as a Detective Inspector. He now leads Opal’s tactical delivery, overseeing intelligence development and operational activity across the organisation.

As Opal’s Detective Inspector, Lawrence is responsible for:

• Managing the tactical teams that deliver intelligence development across Opal’s thematic desks, with a focus on complex investigations, operational opportunities, and upstream disruption activity.
• Strengthening Opal’s visibility and engagement across UK policing and industry partners.
• Improving intelligence sharing and collaboration with partners while enhancing stakeholder relationships.
• Acting as the link between Opal’s strategic leadership and operational teams, ensuring delivery remains aligned with Opal’s strategic objectives and operating model.

Lawrence brings investigative, intelligence, and leadership experience to Opal, supporting its mission to tackle serious acquisitive crime through partnership, innovation, and intelligence-led policing.

Lou joined Wiltshire Police in 2001 and almost immediately moved into the world of Financial Investigation at a time when the Proceeds of Crime Act was fresh out the box.  Navigating through this new legislation, and being part of a pioneering community of investigators whose purpose was to demonstrate that crime doesn’t pay, sparked an interest in economic crime that has stayed with her ever since.

Lou stayed with Wiltshire Police for 25 years, as a financial investigator and subsequently the Financial Investigations Manager.  She has considerable experience in both criminal and civil enquiries, working alongside officers to secure the best outcomes in cases ranging from murder and major crime, to drug trafficking, to burglary, and of course money laundering.

Lou joined Opal in 2026 in the role of Financial Intelligence Manager, providing access to a previously untapped wealth of information that underpins all aspects of serious and organised acquisitive crime.

Her responsibilities within her role as Financial Intelligence Manager include:

• Advising on all financial investigation capabilities and options
• Maximising the use of financial intelligence to drive operational outcomes across policing and partners.
• Exploring and exploiting civil recovery opportunities

Katherine joined Thames Valley Police in 2015 as a researcher in patrol strategy. She then worked in strategic governance as a His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services's (HMICFRS) coordinator and Corporate Strategy Researcher. In this role, she coordinated the annual schedule of assessments from the policing inspectorate, was involved in corporate change projects, and advised on risk assessment, business continuity and data protection. She was also involved in horizon scanning and legislation interpretation.

In 2019 Katherine joined the Thames Valley Force Intelligence Bureau, where she worked as an Intelligence Development Officer in child sexual exploitation, before moving to the Rural and Commercial Crime Desk in 2021. In her portfolio she covered organised business burglaries and thefts; commercial robberies; metal and infrastructure theft; fuel and freight theft; and offences against banks and jewellers. She has also provided intelligence support for both Royal funerals, the Coronation, political events, and major crime investigations.  

Katherine has a Bachelor of Arts with Honours and a Master of Science, both from Durham University.

Her responsibilities as Intelligence Support Manager include:

• Managing the organised retail crime functionality.
• Coordinating intelligence capabilities and running the ORC team.
• Maximising data and intelligence opportunities across policing and partners.
• Enhancing and developing innovative and collaborative ways of working to tackle SOAC and related threats.

Jemma joined Opal in 2019 and in that time has worked across multiple SOAC desks including ATM and CViT crime, heritage and cultural property crime, organised retail crime, personal robbery, residential burglary and vehicle crime. She has held the role of intelligence researcher, intelligence analyst and intelligence support manager.

Jemma has a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Psychology with Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies from the University of Plymouth and a Master of Science in Investigative Psychology from the University of Huddersfield.

Her responsibilities as Intelligence Support Manager include:

• Managing the organised retail crime functionality.
• Coordinating intelligence capabilities and running the ORC team.
• Maximising data and intelligence opportunities across policing and partners.
• Enhancing and developing innovative and collaborative ways of working to tackle SOAC and related threats.

Mehri joined Opal in 2025 as Intelligence Manager, leading several national crime functions including burglary, personal robbery, infrastructure and metal crime, vehicle crime, and supply chain crime. She has extensive experience managing complex investigations, developing intelligence-led solutions, and building effective partnerships across policing, industry and regulatory sectors.

Mehri began her career in policing as an Intelligence Officer before progressing to Intelligence Analyst. Prior to joining Opal, she worked at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) as Investigation Specialist and then became a Lead Investigator, managing complex regulatory investigations, assessing risk and non-compliance, and contributing to the development of professional standards and regulatory practice.

She holds a BSc Psychology and an MSc Developmental Disorders from Lancaster University, where her research focused on improving the Cognitive Interview for autistic children.

Her responsibilities as Intelligence Support Manager include:

• Managing the organised retail crime functionality.
• Coordinating intelligence capabilities and running the ORC team.
• Maximising data and intelligence opportunities across policing and partners.
• Enhancing and developing innovative and collaborative ways of working to tackle SOAC and related threats.

Steve is a Detective Sergeant with Thames Valley Police, bringing over 20 years of policing experience since joining the force in 2006. Qualifying as a Detective in 2012, he progressed through a range of investigative roles before being promoted to Detective Sergeant in 2020.

Throughout his career, Steve has specialised in tackling serious acquisitive crime, spending more than 14 years working within Priority Crime Teams across Oxfordshire. During this time, he led numerous investigations and proactive initiatives targeting burglary, robbery and vehicle crime, with a strong focus on reducing offences that have the greatest impact on victims, communities and public safety.

In April 2026, Steve joined the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) National Intelligence Unit for Serious Acquisitive Crime (Opal). As Detective Sergeant, he leads work across several national crime themes, including burglary, robbery, vehicle crime, infrastructure and metal theft, and supply chain crime.

Within Opal, Steve is responsible for managing the national thematic desks for these crime areas, driving intelligence-led activity and fostering innovative, collaborative approaches to tackling Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime (SOAC) and associated criminal threats. He works closely with law enforcement partners, industry stakeholders and government agencies to strengthen the collective response to emerging crime trends and organised criminality.

Steve holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree from the University of Wolverhampton.

Opal works with law enforcement officers, partners and industry (both nationally and internationally), leading intelligence functions and coordinating approaches to tackling SOAC.

Opal's purpose is to discover and develop intelligence to support the disruption of organised crime groups that are a priority, due to their assessed levels of threat, SOAC economic/social impact and financial/material gain. This in turn will improve the UK's knowledge and response to cross border criminality in relation to SOAC. 

The team is identifying and assessing current knowledge, establishing what investigations are currently active across the country and debriefing successful law enforcement and partner activity. They also undertake research across the wide SOAC remit to develop their knowledge and develop their network of stakeholders. 

Opal work to the UK Serious and Organised Crime Strategy to ensure that their work does not repeat already valuable activity, and to identify gaps where they can add value to the delivery of the strategy. 

The team is continuously learning about the scale and trends within acquisitive crime, and aims to work with stakeholders to establish broad, problem-solving responses to the organised criminality that is impacting on our neighbourhoods.

Acquisitive crime can have a considerable impact on victims and the team focus on these high volume, tangible crimes to reduce the direct harm to the public.  

The Opal unit provides support to a range of sources including national police leads, the Home Office, the National Crime Agency (NCA), Europol, the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators, Interpol, Regional Organised Crime Units, as well as individual police forces and partner agencies. In short, it coordinates activity and assists forces in developing operations to combat SOAC. It provides a range of intelligence products to law enforcement agencies as well as non-statutory partners across a wide range of sectors including retail, business and vehicle crime. 

Opal support operational work as well as strategic intelligence development in order to assist activity across the 4P spectrum. They are responsible for writing the SOAC section for the national strategic assessment produced by the NCA.

Partnership working is at the heart of the operating model and Opal staff regularly work with industry experts to raise awareness of crime trends, changes in complexity of crime and national hotspots in order to prevent offences. 

Any information relating to SOAC will be used to identify national trends and any support requests will go through our weekly tasking process.  

To contact Opal with general enquiries please email:[email protected]

For Organised Retail Crime queries please email: [email protected]

For Vehicle Crime queries please email: [email protected]

For Supply Chain Crime queries please email: [email protected]