Bill Jephson QPM

Bill Jephson QPM is Director of Strategic Operations and Crisis Response at SJ Group International and a former Deputy Chief Constable with more than 30 years in UK policing. As Assistant Chief Constable in Hertfordshire, he led Operation Hancock, the Tesco baby food blackmail investigation described as the largest blackmail inquiry ever conducted in the UK.

The case ran from 2018 to 2020. The offender had contaminated jars of baby food with metal fragments and demanded cryptocurrency from Tesco. Bill commanded a multi-agency response involving three police forces, the National Crime Agency, the Food Standards Agency, Public Health England and Police Scotland. The offender was convicted and jailed for 14 years.

Bill has served as Gold Commander on blackmail and product contamination cases throughout his career. As a Senior Investigating Officer in London and Hertfordshire, he led homicide, kidnap and extortion investigations, including the cold case conviction for the 2004 murder of Lieutenant Colonel Robert "Riley" Workman. Over more than ten years as a chief officer, he held national accreditation as a Gold Commander for firearms and public order, and led responses to major incidents across agencies.

He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in 2022.

At SJ Group International, Bill leads the firm's response to blackmail, extortion and product contamination threats against companies, and advises boards and leadership teams on incident command, multi-agency coordination and protecting reputation during a crisis.