Bringing new skills into modern policing

When people think about careers in policing, they often picture officers on the frontline. Increasingly, however, forces are relying on specialists from outside the sector to help tackle some of their biggest strategic challenges.

From technology and data to sustainability and fleet electrification, modern policing depends on expertise that hasn’t traditionally been associated with the emergency services. West Yorkshire Police‘s Sustainability Manager, Anda Baumerte, is one example of how those different perspectives are helping shape the future.

After more than 10 years working in energy and climate policy across civil service, consultancy, research and the electricity sector, Anda joined West Yorkshire Police in 2023. It wasn’t the career she had expected, but one that allowed her to apply years of strategic experience to challenges that are becoming increasingly important for policing.

As part of our #SheServesToo campaign, Emergency Services Times spoke to Anda about bringing an unconventional skillset into policing, why collaboration is key and what the future of emergency services looks like.

“It wasn’t a career path I anticipated, but the role combined strategy with practical delivery and matched the experience I’d built throughout my career. Joining policing may have happened by chance, but staying has been a deliberate choice.”

In the three years since, Anda has led the development of West Yorkshire Police’s first Sustainability Strategy and recently published its first five-year Sustainability Plan. She has introduced Carbon Literacy training – making West Yorkshire Police, she says, the only force to roll it out – established governance structures to embed sustainability across the force, and helped ensure environmental, social and economic considerations are built into long-term decision making.

While much of that work has taken place within West Yorkshire Police, its impact has reached far beyond a single force. Drawing on her previous experience in the energy sector, Anda has helped bring together police forces, electricity network operators, policymakers and industry partners to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing emergency service fleets – preparing for the transition to electric vehicles.

Collaborative work involving more than 10 organisations has already saved an estimated £200,000 in consultancy costs, and produced a national assessment identifying that policing could require between £1bn and £2bn of investment in charging infrastructure in the years ahead.

For Anda, the conversation isn’t simply about reducing emissions, it’s about ensuring emergency services can continue responding effectively as vehicle technology changes.

“Our ability to answer 999 calls will increasingly depend on our ability to charge and operate electric vehicles. The biggest challenge isn’t the vehicles themselves – it’s making sure the infrastructure is in place before operational capability is affected.”

Preparing for those changes has also highlighted another strength of the emergency services – collaboration.

Much of Anda’s work involves connecting organisations that may not traditionally have worked closely together, from electricity network operators and policymakers to police estates teams and sustainability leads. By encouraging those conversations, she believes organisations are better placed to solve shared challenges and avoid working in isolation.

That collaborative approach has already helped create stronger links across the blue light sector while supporting national conversations around future infrastructure requirements and resilience planning.

“I regard colleagues in other blue light organisations as my wider team. By sharing ideas and challenging each other’s thinking, we end up with stronger outcomes, and I genuinely believe collaboration is one of the public sectors’ greatest strengths.”

Anda’s journey also reflects how careers in policing are continuing to evolve. While frontline officers remain at the heart of policing, specialist professionals are increasingly helping forces respond to complex issues ranging from digital transformation and sustainability to estates, engineering and innovation.

For women considering a career in the emergency services, she hopes her own experience demonstrates there is no single route into the sector.

“There are opportunities for people with all kinds of professional backgrounds. If you’ve never considered policing because you didn’t think your experience would be relevant, I’d encourage you to take another look. The emergency services need people who bring different perspectives because the challenges we’re facing demand different ways of thinking.”

As emergency services continue adapting to new technologies and changing operational demands, Anda’s story is a reminder that innovation isn’t only about adopting new equipment. It’s also about bringing new voices, fresh expertise and different ways of thinking into the organisations that serve our communities.

This article is part of #SheServesToo, our campaign celebrating the stories of women across the emergency services. #SheServesToo is proudly supported by PBI. Find out more about PBI and its work here. If you have a story to share, get in touch with the EST team.

Hear Anda Baumerte speak at The Emergency Services Show 2026

Anda Baumerte will join the panel discussion The women behind the wheel of blue light fleets on the Fleet of the Future Stage from 16:05-16:35 on Wednesday 16 September. The session will explore careers, leadership, inclusion and the barriers that still exist for women working across blue light fleet, while discussing how organisations can encourage the next generation into the profession.