Who we are
NERCCU is made up of seven cyber protect officers.
Jonny Green
NERSOU Cyber Protect Officer
Jonathan comes from a strong technical background, with a BSc(Hons) Computer Science degree and currently studying towards a MSc in Cyber Security. He has completed training in CISMP; CompTIA Sec+; ISO 27001 and Cyber Incident Response Management.
Jonathan joined the police in 2008 as an intelligence analyst and has worked at both local and regional levels. He joined the North East Regional Cyber Crime Unit in 2017 as a Cyber PROTECT Officer where his primary role was to engage with businesses and communities in the Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria police force areas providing national advice and guidance.
He has extensive experience of speaking at forum, group and cluster events, as well as specific advice and support to businesses on a one-to-one basis. He can deliver tailored staff awareness sessions and also cyber exercises to test business resilience in the event of a cyber attack.
Charlotte Knill
Northumbria Police Cyber Protect Officer
Before joining the Regional Cyber Crime Unit in 2022, Charlotte worked in Northumbria Police as a Digital Forensics Investigator before moving to the newly formed Force Specialist Cyber Crime Investigation Team in 2019 as their dedicated Cyber Prevent Officer. In her role as Cyber Prevent Officer, Charlotte would engage with young individuals who had been identified as being technically proficient and educated them around how they can use their knowledge of tech safely and legally, encouraging them stay on a positive pathway so as not to end up on the wrong side of the law.
Prior to working in law enforcement, Charlotte worked in the private sector as a Digital Forensics Analyst and Information Security Consultant where she would work with businesses who had suffered data breaches.
As regional Cyber Protect officer, Charlotte’s role is to engage with businesses and communities in the Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria Police Force areas providing national cyber security advice and guidance. This support can be provided in a number of ways including speaking at events, delivering staff awareness sessions, offering business support on a one-to-one basis and also delivering cyber exercises.
Charlotte comes from a technical background with a BSc (Hons) Digital Forensics degree and has also completed a number of training courses including CISMP and COMP TIA Sec+.
Maria Bartley
Northumbria Police Cyber Protect and prepare Officer
Having carved out a career as a detective chasing criminals, I recently retired from Northumbria Police re-joining in November 2022 as the Force’s Cyber Protect and Prepare Officer.
As a detective I gained a wealth of experience working in some unique roles in specialist teams such as NEROCU, working in partnership with HMPS within a maximum-security prison and on many homicides and large-scale major investigations.
I worked as the Detective Sgt in the Digital Forensics Unit within Northumbria Police which showed me how technology really is at the forefront of modern policing and ignited my interest in this area of policing.
As part of Northumbria Police Cyber Team, I am involved in preparing and delivering quality advice to victims and potential victims of cybercrime, including individuals, community groups, businesses and organisations. I increase public awareness of cybercrime through social media and advice to communities and small businesses which can be in the form of presentations, interactive training or events. I provide personal advice to victims of cybercrime to ensure they have the support to prevent them from being a repeat victim.
Claire Turnbull
Durham Constabulary Cyber Protect Officer
Claire is the Cyber Prevent and Protect Supervisor with Durham Constabulary, managing the Cyber Prevent and Protect team which cover the whole of County Durham and Darlington. Claire’s career in Policing started when she joined Durham Constabulary in 1992 as a Special Constable.
Claire has experience in various roles within the organisation and joined the Cyber Crime Team in 2017.
Claire and her team deliver Cyber Protect advice to communities, local businesses and organisations, and host business events for local SMEs. She is experienced in sharing messages with the wider public through social media and community alerts. Claire and her team also provide personalised, one-to-one advice and support to previous victims of Cyber Crime to prevent them from becoming repeat victims.
In her role, Claire covers the Protect, Prevent and Prepare strands of the 4 P’s strategy to help make businesses and the public more resilient against Cyber Crime. Claire has undertaken a number of courses in Cyber Security from both Firebrand and QA, and is certified in CISMP (Certificate in Information Security Management Principles).
Maresa Bell
Durham Constabulary Cyber Protect Officer
Maresa has been in the role of Cyber Prevent and Protect Officer at Durham since April 2020.
As part of the team, Maresa helps increase public awareness of cybercrime through social media and provides advice to communities and small businesses. This can be in the form of presentations, interactive training or events.
Maresa also provides personal advice to victims of cybercrime and ensures they have the support to prevent them from being a repeat victim. Within Prevent, her aim is to help support parents and schools spot the signs of potential misuse, educate young people on the computer misuse act and the different path ways they can take with their skills.
Jessica Oughtred
Durham Constabulary Cyber Protect Officer
Jessica has been in the role of Cyber Prevent and Protect Officer at Durham since February 2021.
As part of the team, Jessica is involved in preparing and delivering quality advice to victims and potential victims of cybercrime, including individuals, community groups, businesses and organisations. Jessica helps to increase public awareness of cybercrime through social media and advice to communities and small businesses. This can be in the form of presentations, interactive training or events.
Jessica also provides personal advice to victims of cybercrime and ensures they have the support to prevent them from being a repeat victim.
Within Prevent, her aim is to help support parents and schools spot the signs of potential misuse, educate young people on the computer misuse act and the different path ways they can take with their skills.
Kelly Close
Cleveland Police Cyber Protect Officer
Kelly joined Cleveland Police Control Room in 1997 while studying Systems Analysis, however loved the role so stayed for 20 years working in both the emergency call handler and dispatch positions. In this position Kelly received specialist training for major incidents and is a tactical advisor for pursuits.
After this Kelly joined the Community Safety Team for three years, working as a Crime Prevention Officer. This role was mainly focused on safeguarding vulnerable people, looking at their home physical security, personal safety and their online digital safety, as well as community engagement. It was here that Kelly developed her interest in cyber security and fraud and was successful in joining the Cyber Crime Team.
Since joining the team in October Kelly has completed her NCSC Foundation Course and the Protect course, and is now preparing for the CompTIA Security + exam in the summer.
