Did you know, over 90% of the features and functionality developed in our software is driven by customer feedback?
Did you also know that we have a highly experienced product management team working behind the scenes to facilitate this?
We’re delighted to introduce you to our newest Associate Product Manager, Louis Martin. Louis joins us from Norfolk Constabulary where he served for 9 years as a Senior Analyst (and was also an avid user of Chorus!)
We sat down with Louis to understand more about his role. Plus, he shares some key insight into how customer feedback gets processed through to development!
Tell us a bit about you
Hi. I’m Louis Martin and I’m the Associate Product Manager for Chorus Intelligence. I recently joined the company, having previously worked for Norfolk Constabulary for 9 years, finishing my service as a Senior Analyst.
I first developed my interest in law enforcement when I attended the University of East Anglia to study psychology, with modules in ‘Forensic Psychology’ and ‘Crime and Punishment’. Following that, I completed a master’s degree in international security.
My first ever role in the police was processing speeding tickets. Whilst not my dream job, this gave me the foot-in-the-door that I needed to apply for intelligence-based roles. I quickly went from processing speeding tickets to being an Intelligence Clerk, then to Intelligence Support Officer, then to Intelligence Analyst – where I spent 5 years working on serious organised crime investigations. When I felt I was no longer being challenged, I took the plunge to Senior Intelligence Analyst. This role required me to supervise the Operational Analysis and Research Team (OART) of Suffolk Constabulary. I enjoyed this role immensely and the team I worked with were fantastic – often the ‘unsung heroes’ of policing, our Researchers and Analysts worked tirelessly to provide key tactical research and analysis support to everything from district policing to Major Investigations.
What inspired you to join the team here?
After 9 years I felt like I needed a new challenge. I knew I wanted to continue to work in a role that helped victims of crime as well as pursue dangerous offenders, and Chorus was the perfect fit. Having used the software myself during my role as an Analyst, I knew the good that the technology does, and to be able to contribute to its development was an exciting opportunity.
Since working in the Cyber Crime Unit of Norfolk and Suffolk Constabularies I’ve had a passion for cutting-edge technology and computer programming. So, when the opportunity arose to join Chorus, I welcomed the challenge of working closer with the software development.
What does a typical day in the Product Team look like?
One word – “busy”! It’s a fast-paced environment, which is what I thrive in. In my role I work alongside the Software Developers to ensure that the software they create is not only relevant and fit for purpose, but that it goes above and beyond. I bridge the gap between customer and developer. To achieve this, I meticulously gather customer feedback, meeting and speaking with a wide variety of customers to understand requirements. We pride ourselves on being a customer-led organisation, so I want to ensure that we listen to our users and continue to deliver the highest quality solutions for them.
What are you aspiring to achieve in your new role?
I wanted to hit the ground running in this role. I love learning and I particularly wanted to understand the software development cycle so I could then impart my knowledge and experience of intelligence and investigations, as an end user, into the company.
My ultimate ambition is to help as many victims and families of crime as I can. To do that we need to build the best digital investigation software available and bring more offenders to justice.
What are you most proud of in your career so far?
When I left Norfolk Constabulary, I was overwhelmed with the positive feedback that I received from the team I supervised. I feel honoured to have worked with such an amazing group of individuals, and I’m profoundly proud of each and every one of them and what they achieved in my time with them.
Another thing I’m proud of is my contribution to an investigation which led to the arrest and prosecution of a notorious online cyber-criminal who was part of an Organised Crime Group (OCG) who had stolen over $4m from an online cryptocurrency exchange. My team and I worked alongside the US Secret Service in this investigation and after a lot of hard work, we got the outcome we needed – we even received Crown Court Judge’s Commendations for our work.
I know it sounds cliché, but I’m also proud of taking the leap of faith to leave law enforcement after 9 years. After so long in one place, I felt very safe and settled, but to challenge myself as much as I wanted to, I needed to seek a new opportunity.
What’s the best advice that you’ve ever received?
The first words that a dear friend and mentor gave to me who was an ex-police officer – “Always cover your own ass!”. What he meant was, as members of law enforcement we should always be acting with the utmost integrity, but sometimes your integrity will be challenged. Therefore, maintaining an audit trail of the big decisions we make is paramount. Sooner or later we all make decisions that not everyone will agree with, but as long as we can justify why we made them and still act with integrity, then there’s nothing to worry about.
What do you enjoy doing outside of Chorus?
I am a supporter of Norwich City FC (NCFC) and I watch all the games with my fiancée Wiktoria. We are so passionate about the club that we also house children who come over to play for the NCFC Academy. I also can’t forget our dogs – they’re a huge part of our lives and we’d be lost without them!
What’s one thing people don’t know about you that they would be surprised to find out?
Having worked for the Police you become desensitised to anything that surprises the average person! For this very reason, I’m struggling to think what would actually surprise our law enforcement readers.
What’s one thing on your bucket list?
I would love to explore the Amazon rainforest. My bucket list is ever growing, and it all seems to be travel-related!
How would your best friend describe you in three words?
I did message him to ask for three words, and he gave me 3 rather corporate-sounding buzzwords, I guess to make me sound good! So instead, let’s go with: “Fun, adventurous, chill”.
Your ongoing feedback helps us drive product enhancements. If you would like to request a change or improvement to the software, let us know!
