Meirion Davies
Lecturer in Policing
Biography
Meirion joined the North Wales Police in April 1984, spending most of his career in the Wrexham area. In 1994 he became a detective, working in various specialised roles, within the field of serious criminal investigations particularly child safeguarding. He was fortunate to be trained in many different skills including, specialist interviewing of suspect and victims, ‘Joint Agency Investigations’ and as a ‘Family Liaison Officer.’ Meirion trained as an engineer before joining the Police, always having interest in digital technology, this became especially useful in the mid 1990’s when the very first incidents of digital crime began to emerge. He became a specialist investigator in this brand-new field of police investigation. In 2003 Meirion joined the Hi-tech Crime Unit of the North Wales Police receiving training as a digital forensics’ investigator, gaining many qualifications. In 2014, he graduated from Canterbury Christchurch University, with a Master of Science Degree, in Cyber Crime Forensics. Meirion worked closely with many specialised departments including the Counter Terrorism Unit and Professional Standards Department, conducting complex investigations. Additionally, he developed training courses for police officers to raise their awareness of Digital Crime. In April 2014, Meirion retired from the North Wales Police after 30 years of service as a police officer, joining Cheshire Constabulary Digital Forensics Unit, as a Civilian Digital Forensics Investigator, where he continued to conduct research developing new skills introducing specialised techniques for the rapid triaging of digital evidence at crime scenes, methods that have since been adopted as national best practice across the UK. His research and practical experience led Cheshire to be the first police organisation, in the UK to achieve international accreditation in Digital Forensics publishing a number of academic papers, nationally adopted as best practice in the UK. He also became a home office approved trainer for specialist areas of digital forensics. During his twenty years in the field of digital crime, Meirion he has been involved in many high-profile and complex investigations. He is recognised as an expert in his field, having received many commendations for his work, including the prestigious, ‘Police Federation National Detectives’ award in 2016. In May 2023, he left Cheshire Constabulary, after 39 years police service, and joined the University of Chester, Institute of Policing, as a Module leader in Digital Crime. Meirion is married with five children, he is a huge rugby fan supporting Wales and the Ospreys. An enthusiastic Archer, he is a qualified Archery GB coach, and he is working towards further qualifications as a NFAS Field Archery Coach. He is working towards a PG Certificate in Higher Education, as part of his new career at the University of Chester.
Teaching and Supervision
Meirion is currently the Module lead for IP6618 Community Policing and Criminal Investigations (Digital Crime), IP6103 Professional Policing Degree (Digital Crime) and IP5104 Policing Investigations. He additionally provides inputs in relation to digital evidence on IP4641 Vulnerable Missing Persons and IP4106 Roads Policing in relation to vehicle telematics. He is additionally trained as a Hydra immersive training facility user and Facilitator and provides support to practical exercises run by the Institute of Policing . Having recently joined the University after an extensive career within the police Meirion is currently undergoing assessment for AFHEA and is currently enrolled on the PGCert in Higher Education to become FHEA.
Research and Knowledge Exchange
Meirion Is interested in conducting research in the field of Digital Crime and Digital Forensics. Specifically research to improve law enforcement response to the understanding of the implications of digital evidence in respect of complex and serious criminal investigations. Additionally Meirion has an interest in conducting work with other departments to explore the impact of digital crime in all areas of society.