Reflections from the frontline: a Police Now secondment at Crest Advisory

Careers

---

Megan Taylor

Thursday 2 July 2026

Crest Advisory is proud to partner with Police Now, hosting officers on month-long secondments within our Consulting and Insights units. The secondments give Police Now officers a broader understanding of the criminal justice system beyond operational policing, while giving our team the chance to draw on frontline experience to enrich policy and strategy development. In this blog, our most recent secondee, Megan, reflects on the skills she brought to the team and the skills she took away.

---

I was drawn to Crest Advisory because of its focus on core issues within the criminal justice system and its close collaboration with frontline practitioners across agencies. Crest’s work has a real impact on the system by providing robust evaluation, challenge, and recommendations that highlight the need for positive change. Contributing to this work was particularly fulfilling, knowing the research I was part of would have a positive impact on issues I care about.

Seeing the bigger picture

In my role as a police officer, I can respond to multiple incidents a day, taking initial accounts and statements, gathering evidence available on scene, making arrests and taking steps to immediately safeguard victims. This can often be the limit of my involvement as the primary investigation is handed over to specialist departments and partner agencies. As a result, I am not always privy to the long-term impacts and outcomes of the investigation and the broader context within which policing operates.

Working at Crest has reminded me of the vital role police officers play in the criminal justice system beyond everyday policing and the importance of multi-agency work in achieving the best possible outcomes for the community that I serve.

Learning through variety and pace

One of the most rewarding aspects of my time at Crest was the opportunity to be part of multiple projects, each covering very different but current topics. Analysts at Crest work on a number of projects at the same time and this really appealed to me as it makes the nature of the work fast-paced and challenging. 

Through one project, I gained valuable insight into how partner agencies support young people through the youth justice system, with a heavy focus on prevention and diversion through referrals and interventions. 

Attending expert advisory group meetings allowed me to hear directly from frontline practitioners, who described the range of outcomes at their disposal with decisions guided by the Child First approach. Hearing their perspectives reinforced that the focus should be on helping children build a pro-social identity, steering away from punitive measures and providing space for children to feel empowered. This piece of work coincided with the publication of the recent Youth Justice System Reform and Delivery Plan, which emphasises the need for better early support and interventions, moving away from short custodial sentences for children. 

As I return to policing, I will carry forward these insights with the Child First approach at the forefront of my mind, feeling more confident in making those referrals to partner agencies.

The value of collaboration and lived experience

I appreciated Crest’s collaborative approach and emphasis on conducting research through stakeholder engagement, understanding the importance of frontline experience in shaping policy. Through workshops, interviews, and focus groups with practitioners across the criminal justice system, I saw how frontline experience shapes policy, whether this was through survey development or by understanding the challenges practitioners face. This provided critical insight into the realities of how systems run day to day. 

I also felt empowered to share my own experiences working within the criminal justice system, previously as a prison officer and in my current role as a police officer, with Crest encouraging me to apply my perspective across projects. Presenting my work on Live Facial Recognition, and sharing my experience using the technology in crime hotspots was particularly rewarding. The genuine interest demonstrated by the Crest team in hearing my point of view made me feel valued and reminded me of why I chose the path of working in a frontline role.

I will be returning to the frontline feeling motivated and inspired, with a broader understanding of the role I can play within the wider criminal justice system.