Want to know what it’s like to be a cop?
How about hearing from someone with more than two decades in the job?
Detective Sergeant Louise Gore serves with CID in Durham City and has been an officer for 24 years.
Louise started as a response PC which she did for 16 years including five years as a coroner’s officer helping families going through the worst moments of their lives.
Speaking about some of the jobs that have stayed with her, mental health is at the centre.
“I remember talking someone out of a house who was holding his mother and sister hostage,” she said. “He had a knife and had harmed himself horrendously and it struck me that it was just me and him having a conversation on a couch. I talked to him offered him reassurance and he let his family go, gave me the knife and walked into the ambulance without issue.”
She added: “Another time a man had jumped off a bridge and we responded to reports of a body floating in the river.
“Myself and two colleagues went in and got to him before he went over the weir. We did CPR, doing chest compressions in the river and we got him back.
“It’s jobs like these that stay with you, knowing you are the one helping that person in crisis and changing their life, hopefully for the better.”
Louise is also a qualified Police Search Advisor and Disaster Victim Identification Officer. Custody Sergeant and Wildlife Liaison Officer are also roles she’s had experience in.
Now as a detective in Serious and Complex Crime, Louise said her role involves investigating some of the worst incidents including murder and robbery, identifying victims and progressing investigations to get charges and criminals remanded.
“Every day is different and putting bad people away for a long time is the best thing about my job,” she said. “I also really enjoy helping victims, telling them we have a suspect in custody to give them peace of mind when their whole world is turned upside down.”
Some of the more challenging aspect of the role?
“It can be frustrating when suspects walk away free from court but you know they will come again and you have put in 100 per cent,” she said. “Dealing with death can be challenging too, especially offences involving children and animals.”
Louise described the role as challenging, rewarding and exciting.
Want to be the next DS Gore?
Apply now at: Police Constable (PC) (durham.police.uk)
