National Police Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Protect and Prepare
Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Williams is currently the National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Protect and Prepare. Helen joined the Metropolitan Police in 1996. She served on several busy Boroughs in London as a front line officer in both reactive and proactive roles. Helen moved across into a Detective role in 2004 where she remained in that area of work specialising in Public Protection, Safeguarding and Domestic Abuse. Helen achieved the rank of Detective Superintendent in 2015 working in Camden Borough. In 2016 Helen sought an opportunity to be seconded to the FCDO and was deployed to Sierra Leone as the Senior Strategic Policing Advisor. Helen remained there for 3 years and in that time implemented a comprehensive public order training programme from tactics to Gold Command. This delivered peaceful Presidential elections, the first they had since the civil war that was not governed by the UN. Also assisting in setting up their first detective training school. On returning to the Metropolitan Police in 2019 she moved into Specialist Operations and was the lead for Residential Protection of Royal residences in London, Windsor and Scotland. A challenging role, due to a full review of the policing posture taking place. In July 2022 Helen was successful in a temporary promotion as OCU Commander for the Protective Security Operations in London where she was the London lead for Protect and Prepare and works closely with National Counter Terrorism Security Office to deliver the Protect and Prepare strands of the CONTEST strategy. In April 2023 Helen became the National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Protect and Prepare, bringing the 11 regions and 3 national forces together to ensure as a network we protect the citizens of the UK both home and abroad. Helen has 5 national units that she leads, National Armed Policing Coordination Office, National Couter Terrorism Security Office, Operational Development Unit, National CBRN Centre and the International Protect and Prepare Unit.