Detective Inspector George Radmore appointed as crime manager of the Central Hunter local area command

Detective Inspector George Radmore has been appointed as the crime manager of the Central Hunter local area command.

He took over on October 16 from Detective Inspector Mitch Dubojski, who had been acting in the role for more than a year.

Detective Inspector Radmore came across from Port Stephens, where he was the crime manager for three years.

He started his career in 1986 after graduating from the Goulburn Police Academy.

Mount Druitt was his first post, where he got a start in criminal investigation in 1989.

In 1998, he moved to Newcastle where he worked at Waratah and Lake Macquarie before he joined the Northern Region unsolved homicide squad.

It was in this department that Detective Inspector Radmore faced some devastating cases, one in particular that remains unsolved.

The kidnapping of teenager Gordana Kotevski from Charlestown in 1994 is a case that Detective Inspector Radmore said he would like to solve before he retired.

He said it was disappointing personally, and for the family, that the perpetrator has not been found.

“You become closely associated with families and the victims,” he said.

“To ultimately disappoint them in not being able to solve the investigation for them, it’s quite emotional really.

“Personally its quite devastating, but whatever happens to us its even worse for the family.”

But on the flip side, he noted the prosecution of Bruce Burrell in 2006 for the murder of Kerry Whelan in Sydney in 1997 as a highlight.

He said he felt “euphoria” to finally catch Burrell after a lot of years of work.

“Everyone knew he had done it, it was so satisfying to finally get the conviction.”

It was this pursuit of justice that Detective Inspector Radmore said made him want to be police officer.

“[Being a police officer] is something I always wanted to do,” he said. 

“I suppose I’ve always had a strong sense of right and wrong, it’s something that’s always inspired me in some way.”

And he has certainly got this and more out of policing during his 30-year career.

“The camaraderie is a massive thing, it’s not just a job it’s a lifestyle,” he said.

“The people you associate with in the police force become your friends and family.”

In the Central Hunter, property crime and drugs are high on the priority list, particularly the issue of rising methamphetamine use.

“It’s an insidious drug that’s devastating families and denigrating users, and it has a flow-on effect to whole community,” he said.

Detective Inspector Radmore said he had a “great team of people” and that the public could count on a “100 per cent commitment to reducing crime and tackling crime problems.”

“That’s not to say we’ll solve all crimes, but we’ll co-ordinate the crime response to make it as efficient and as active as possible.”