Dr Amie Birkhamshaw

Senior adviser to the Executive Management Team and Police and Crime Commissioner, providing strategic counsel on policy, governance and organisational culture in a high‑profile, publicly accountable setting. Responsible for drafting high‑profile strategies, briefings and speeches, leading strategic reviews on under‑performance and compliance, and ensuring effective delivery of a five‑year strategy through a cross‑disciplinary team (data science, policy, PMO and commissioning).

Selected impact:

• Strategic governance & systems leadership: Led the business case for transfer of Fire Governance, commissioning an independent review (public safety, efficiency, value for money) and negotiating with senior stakeholders including the Fire Brigades Union and local political leadership to secure joint governance and an MoU for Blue Light Collaboration.
• Multi‑agency transformation in contexts of vulnerability: Co‑designed, with senior fire commanders and partners, the transformation of the Hertfordshire Home Fire Service to a multi‑agency predictive and preventative offer aligned to changing societal needs and reduced service demand.
• Securing resources & delivering sustained public impact: Secured £2.5m Home Office funding and led delivery of three multi‑agency Safer Streets initiatives targeted at areas of high deprivation, mapping against demand, harm and public sentiment, contributing to a sustained 45% reduction in overall crime across targeted areas over four years.
• Leadership through organisational difficulty: Conducted high‑impact reviews of force under‑performance, leading to a £3m criminal justice service redesign and a reported 70% improvement in criminal justice outcomes.
• Strategic operating model & delivery discipline: Wrote the business case for an office restructure, mapping capabilities to statutory duties and strategic priorities with regional benchmarking, delivering £190k savings and establishing a PMO function to track delivery of the Police and Crime Plan.

Led a large, complex and high‑profile transformational project developing innovative, evidence‑based responses to violent crime and burglary across two Local Policing Areas. Managed senior stakeholder governance with national representation; communicated findings to senior policing leaders; and produced operationally usable outputs to support implementation.

Selected impact:

• Delivered a major programme contributing to a 40% reduction in burglary in Luton and a 30% reduction in violence in Slough.
• Chaired/managed a senior stakeholder board with national representation (academics and practitioners), presenting findings and producing tailored operational toolkits for Chief Constables and Heads of Service.

Led and authored national work on value for money, organisational effectiveness and public sector stewardship, including tools to support senior leaders in challenging financial resilience and governance.

Selected impact:

• Designed and authored a Fire and Rescue Savings Review Guide, including finance tools to support robust value‑for‑money judgements and strengthen leadership challenge and financial resilience.
• Authored national studies on value for money (including Sustaining Value for Money in Policing, Making Better Decisions, and In The Know: Making Better Use of Information).

Supported HMICFRS as it developed its role as an economic and strategic regulator through consultation with central government stakeholders and sector leaders, identifying systemic barriers and building internal/external networks of expertise to test findings and strengthen messages.

• Conducted a strategic review of policing economics to inform commissioning, resource allocation, purchasing decisions and revenue management.