ALISON HURST

Director 

Alison joined the West Midlands Police in 1995 and since that time has performed a variety of roles across the West Midlands area.

 
Over the last six years Alison has completed training as a Senior Investigating Officer and has worked on the Public Protection Unit across both the adult and child abuse thematics. During this time Alison has been working closely with both internal and external partners building strong relationships across the statutory partnerships to ensure the most vulnerable are protected.

More recently Alison has had responsibility for the strategic management of the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub, serious and complex child abuse investigation teams, as well as the Force investigations for reports of online grooming and distribution of indecent images.

Alison has experience of leading and delivering change, including leading on the Force Criminal Investigation and volume crime project strands on a two year Force change programme designed to restructure the police crime portfolio to maximise efficiency and outcomes to victims.

HINESH MEHTA

Head of Cyber and Innovation

Hinesh has been a police officer for over 16 years, most recently the Detective Inspector for the Regional Cyber Crime Unit.  The majority of his service has been spent as a detective in various departments, including murder investigation and started the countries first Digital Media Investigator Unit. He has specialised in exploiting technology to assist in the most serious of crimes including murder and kidnap.  He has been heavily involved with shaping the police response to cybercrime in establishing four new teams.  With a wealth of experience, he is currently trying to increase the skill set of the force and is working to prevent organisations from becoming victims of cybercrime.

HANNAH GREGORY

Client Relationship Manager

Hannah started working with West Midlands Police in September 2019, where she secured a 12-month internship with the Regional Cyber Crime Unit as part of her university studies. Hannah has since extended her placement with West Midlands Police, working for the Cyber Resilience Centre’s as a Client Relationship Manager one day a week alongside her final year of studies.

During her time with the West Midlands Police, Hannah gained valuable knowledge surrounding Cyber Psychology and presented on such matters to a range of audiences. Hannah is particularly interested in how human nature often seems to be the weakest link in cyber-related issues, and how cyber criminals exploit such tendencies. Additionally, she is also passionate about developing a deeper understanding into the complexities of Neurodiversity, and the potential links it has to cyber; Hannah is researching this topic further as part of her final year dissertation project.

MEGAN GALLAGHER

Client Relationship Manager

Megan began working with the West Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre in September 2020 in the role of Client Relationship Manager. Alongside her role, Megan is currently studying for her Masters in Cyberpsychology at the University of Wolverhampton.

Megan has a passion for technology and the internet, with a drive to understand how people are affected by and navigate the online world. As part of both her BS Psychology Degree and her Master’s degree, Megan has gained significant experience in conducting psychological research and handling/analysing data (particularly qualitative).