Kings Police Medal and MBE for Thames Valley Police colleagues

Kings Police Medal and MBE for Thames Valley Police colleagues

Left to right: DCC Snuggs and Tori Olphin

In the King’s New Year Honours list one of our Chief Officers has been awarded a King’s Police Medal and a member of staff has been awarded an MBE.

Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) Benjamin Snuggs has been awarded the King’s Police Medal (KPM) for Distinguished Service to policing in a career that has spanned more than 26 years.  

Ben was appointed as Deputy Chief Constable for Thames Valley Police in April 2023, having previously served as Deputy Chief Constable for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary.

Amongst holding a number of national policing portfolios and his duties at Thames Valley Police, he recently led the force and multiagency gold command policing response for His Royal Highness Prince Phillip’s funeral.

From March 2020 to September 2021, he served as Assistant Chief Constable, Operations with portfolio responsibility for the Joint Operations Unit and Contact Management across Thames Valley Police and Hampshire Constabulary.

Ben chairs the national Forensic Information Database Services (FINDS) Strategy Board on behalf of the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC). He is also the national lead for Hostage and Crisis Negotiation, having served as a negotiator for many years.

Ben has a long track record of leading and supporting digital policing, and the use of science and technology to improve our service for the public.

In 2009, he served in Afghanistan as a European Union Police Mission civilian police advisor to the Minister of the Interior.

Ben is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a degree in Law and Criminology (LL.B) and a Masters Degree in Police Leadership and Management (MSc).

DCC Snuggs, said: “I am truly humbled to have been awarded a King’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service. Great policing and community service relies on effective teamwork and I want to recognise and thank all the fantastic colleagues right across policing with whom I work.”

Tori Olphin, Chief Data Scientist and Head of Research for Thames Valley Police’s Violence Reduction Unit, has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to Technology in the Public Sector.

She has served for over three years with Thames Valley Police on behalf of the wider partnership that is the Thames Valley Violence Reduction Unit. In her role as Chief Data Scientist and Head of Research, she leads approaches to research, evaluation and the application of technology to improve the way we keep our communities safe.

Notably, Tori has brought the latest approaches to how we gather evidence and evaluate the way that we deliver policing, helping us to be more efficient and effective.

Tori developed what has become the largest randomised control trial (RCT) of the impact of hotspot policing. This is helping improve the way we police the Thames Valley, going on to be highlighted as national best practice by the Home Office and the College of Policing.

Tori’s work has also included developing cutting-edge approaches to the way we use data and technology to predict risk and vulnerability and in the way we share information with partners, again putting the Thames Valley at the forefront of practice.  

Tori said: “It is an enormous privilege to be working in a role where I can directly assist the way that we keep people safe, by conducting research and developing new tools and approaches, particularly for the most vulnerable in our society.  

“The way that we use technology brings huge opportunities to our communities, but through my work I have made it a priority that we do so with transparency and to benefit all in a fair and open way.  

“I am incredibly honoured to receive this award and am extremely grateful to those I work with and for the opportunity to continue my work in this exciting and challenging area.”

Chief Constable for Thames Valley Police Jason Hogg, said: “I am proud that both Ben and Tori have been honoured.  

“Their dedication and commitment to policing and protecting our communities is clear to see.

“The recognition of their achievements is not just a reflection on themselves but also Thames Valley Police.

“Congratulations to Ben and Tori from myself and the force.”

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Thames Valley Police (TVP) is actively looking for people to be the difference they want to see in their communities.

To find out more about a policing career with TVP, and the opportunities available now within our force, please visit our Roles page.