A detective who dropped his knife and fork to tackle a shoplifter on his day off has been praised.
DC Ian Moore was sitting outside a Whickham restaurant when a man ran by from the nearby Co-op with a handful of stolen goods.
The Northumbria Police officer instinctively sprung into action and caught the suspect, pinning him down until back-up arrived.
Chief Superintendent Scott Hall, who heads the Safeguarding department in which Ian works, has praised the detective for his vigilance and actions.
He said: “I see officers in Safeguarding go above and beyond every day in the work they do but to go home and still go out of their way to fight crime is real dedication to being a police officer.
“I think it is a true representation of just how versatile the role of policing can be. We are human beings like everyone else at the end of the day but when we see something that doesn’t look right - our instincts and training take over.
“Thank you to Ian for his actions, it makes me proud to have him in our department and that his dedication and values are still all about protecting the public and catching the bad guys – well done Ian.”
Det Cons Ian Moore specialises in rape investigations and domestic violence cases by day but clearly hasn’t lost his touch in apprehending shoplifters either.
He said: “It’s just what we are trained to do. It becomes part of your nature to always have an eye out and when we do see something suspicious, our gut instincts take over.
“Your first reaction is to stop them from getting away or hurting anyone, there isn’t really a thought about your own safety at the time.
“Catching shoplifters isn’t often something I deal with these days but our duty is to stop criminals and protect the public so hopefully I’ve done just that.”
The man arrested was charged with shoplifting and was sentenced on Monday, August 19, to 16 months behind bars.
