Meet the Buckinghamshire mum and daughter working in the same policing family
A Buckinghamshire mum and daughter who work in the same policing family have been celebrated by the force on Mother’s Day.
Detective Maureen Moore and Police Constable Darcey Moore both work for Thames Valley Police, a force which covers Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire.
The force put the spotlight on the pair in a joint interview published in the run-up to Mother’s Day, which was celebrated on Sunday, March 15.
Detective Maureen admitted she was ‘apprehensive’ about her daughter joining the police saying: "My role as her mother is to protect her and keep her from harm. I’ve had colleagues injured in the line of duty, and I didn’t want this to happen to her. It gave me some sleepless nights.
"I’ve seen some horrendous scenes, some of which do leave a lasting effect on you. However, I was so proud when she passed out, and she continues to impress me with her stamina, resilience and her positive attitude."
PC Darcey recalled the moment when her mum found out they were going to be working in the same team at the same station.
"She stormed into the office to announce that she was my mother and that I was joining their team," she recalled.
"I’m not sure if this was more funny or embarrassing at the time!
"We don’t work at the same stations anymore, but when we did, mum would bring me coffee and lunch when I was too busy to get my own, which was always a nice surprise."
On making the move into policing DC Darcey admitted it was something she had always been interested in.
"My mum joined the police after working an office role for many years, and has always spoken positively of her job and has never looked back," PC Darcey said.
"I studied criminology at the university, which further increased my interest in joining, and I am glad I did."
Det Maureen said the pair frequently gave each other advice to help them on their respective policing journeys, citing an example when PC Darcey was working on a case that involved indecent images of children.
"The Online Child Abuse Investigation Team is the department I work in, so I was able to offer advice and support in relation to viewing the images (which I helped categorise) and preparing the file," she explained.
"I haven’t been on Incident Crime Response {where PC Darcey works} since 2012, so it’s interesting to hear about the jobs she goes to and that actually, things haven’t changed much."
PC Darcey added: "I tend to go to mum for paperwork advice, as due to the level of experience and the jobs she goes to, she has a wealth of knowledge which helps me in my investigations."
They also spoke of the importance of family support with Det Maureen saying: "It helps that we are both in the police and understand the trauma that we suffer on occasions whilst doing the job.
"It is always good to talk through a traumatic incident, rather than keeping it to yourself."
PC Darcey added: "Having a family member who can relate to the incidents you attend makes it a bit easier to process things sometimes.
"You don’t always want to weigh other people down with some of the things we deal with if they aren’t in the police, as some jobs we attend are quite challenging."
Det Maureen and PC Darcey spent Mother’s Day weekend enjoying some time off work and attending the Men’s Six Nations rugby union fixture between Wales and Italy.
You can read their full interview on the careers section of the Thames Valley Police website.