A long-standing North East police chief is retiring after dedicating more than half of her life to fighting crime.
Chief Superintendent Sarah Pitt, who is an area commander for Sunderland and South Tyneside, joined the force in 1995 - and has seen a variety of experiences, high and low, in her career spanning 27 years.
Aged 49, the South Tyneside resident is looking forward to retirement, but has said that she will miss carrying out a job she adores so much.
Speaking to ChronicleLive at Northumbria Police's station on Station Road, South Shields, Ch Supt Pitt said: "It's a vocation isn't it, policing? I think it's seven days a week, 365 days a year no matter whether you're on annual leave.
"I'll miss the working environment, I'll miss the people that I work with - not only in terms of my colleagues, but also the communities and partners that we've worked with over many, many years and created some great friendships with.
"So I'll absolutely miss what I do, but I'm gonna have a rest and see what life has to bring for me in the future."
Throughout her policing career, Ch Supt Pitt has experienced many opportunities as an Area Commander - from policing the Newcastle United and Sunderland AFC matchdays each weekend, to organising the setup for the annual Sunderland Air Show that she attended as a child. She was even invited down to London to assist in the 2012 Olympic Games.
On her experience with Northumbria Police, she added: "I've done many things over the years but I'm really proud of being always doing front-facing/public-facing, working within our local communities.
"I've worked across a number of area commands, Sunderland and South Tyneside, Gateshead, Newcastle, and also worked in our operations department which covers our marine unit, firearms and things along those lines.
"Very much being front-facing in terms of working across the area commands and the departments that cover predominantly Sunderland and South Tyneside for the past five years and being here as the area commander.
"It's been an amazing experience and I don't think you could really tell anybody what policing is all about. Every day is a different day.
"Very challenging in terms of the role but very rewarding in terms of what you do, and whenever you do any form of work you have down days, but I've had more good days. I always come to work with a smile on my face around that positivity, around what today is going to bring."
Ch Supt Pitt says policing has changed a lot over the course of her career's humble beginnings in 1995 to 2022, but she said that the changes have been mostly positive and stressed the importance of moving in good stead with the times.
She continued: "There's been some significant changes over 27 years in policing from what I've seen, and what I think anybody who has ever worked in policing [have seen]. Times change and communities change and it's important that we, in policing, change to be able to adapt towards that."
Ch Supt Pitt added: "When I joined there were one or two females that sat on a shift. There weren't many senior officers who worked who were female - not just in Northumbria but across policing. There's a significant difference now in terms of it, it's very much more mixed and balanced in terms of male and females across officers, staff and our volunteers that work in policing.
"And there's a number of senior officers that are women as well and more coming through the ranks, so definitely not just only around women but also people who come from different ethnic backgrounds. We're seeing a significant change in policing for the better, I would say in terms of really representing our communities."
Sarah's last shift on the beat will be Friday, 29 April - when she will wave goodbye to a long and prosperous career with Northumbria Police.
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