New chief joins on two-year secondment from Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire forces’ shared service
Ian Bell has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of the Police ICT Company (PICTO).
He is due to move into the post on 5 February on a two-year secondment from his existing role as chief information officer for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Police forces, taking over from Robert Leach who has been acting CEO since April of last year.
Bell is also programme director for the National Enabling Programmes for the increase of digital technology in policing.
He has been in a police ICT role since 2008, when he joined Cambridgeshire Constabulary as its head of ICT service delivery. In that time he created a cohesive team, and moved into the position for the three-force shared ICT department with its creation in 2015.
His experience includes ICT leadership roles in public and private sectors for 16 years.
“I’m delighted to take up this opportunity to lead The Police ICT Company, for and on behalf of UK police forces, together with its national partners,” he said.
“It’s a great start to 2018 knowing that I will play a key role in enabling the company to become a crucial and critical friend to our police forces, driving innovative new technology that will lead to positive change, including greater efficiencies, within police ICT.”
Under its previous leadership, PICTO has been developing the role as an ‘intelligent client’ of digital services for police forces, brokering deals and advising them on solutions.
It manages commercial agreements with suppliers such as IBM i2 for data software, and provides services such as the Knowledge Hub to improve collaboration between police forces.
