From starting his career in Darlinghurst in the 1980s, to witnessing firsthand the destruction of the Newcastle Earthquake, and the tragedy of the Hawkesbury River plane crash on New Year’s Eve 2017, there’s not much that Chief Inspector Michael Gorman hasn't seen in his 36 years with the NSW Police Force.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Now, Chief Inspector Gorman is taking on a new challenge, as the Officer in Charge at Cessnock Police Station.
“I have certainly had a range of experience over 36 years,” he said. “That’s why I love the job – no two jobs are the same. You never know what you are going to walk into when you start a shift.”
Aside from stints in Darlinghurst, Hornsby and a number of stations around the Newcastle region, Chief Inspector Gorman also worked at the Police Academy in Goulburn for 13 years where he delivered a number of courses including Olympic Venue Commanders training for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
He said that he was looking forward to the challenge of policing in a regional area.
“I was approached late last year with the opportunity to come here for six months to be the Officer In Charge and saw it was a good opportunity to challenge myself to work at another command,” he said.
While Chief Inspector Gorman said the job did not come without its challenges, including issues surrounding drugs, domestic violence and theft, he was quick to point to the pro-active work already being done by Cessnock Police, such as Operation RIDA (Report Illegal Dirtbike Activity).
He added that he believed a large part of his role was to help build on the work already being done on the ground – a large part of that being building stronger relationships with the community.
“We do rely on the members of the community and, for me, it’s about building that profile in that community that says ‘Cessnock Police is open for business, we are here to address your concerns,’” he said.
“Ninety-eight per cent of people in Cessnock are decent people who just want to go about their business so I’m focussed on letting the majority of the community know that we are here to support them while putting pressure on the offenders to say that if you step out of line expect to find yourself answering to a magistrate.”
Chief Inspector Gorman said he believed there was much to be gained by getting out and about in the community.
“At the end of the day policing is about talking to people,” he said. “The benefits of being able to say ‘hello’ to people on the street and just have conversations with them to build that level of trust, really does help us do our job effectively.”
