Chief Inspector Lorraine Cuthbertson has spent more than two decades in policing, but it is her strength beyond the uniform that has defined her as a truly inspirational figure.
In July 2023, Lorraine’s life changed forever. Her six-year-old daughter, Mercy, began complaining of dizziness. Within 72 hours, Lorraine and her husband Paul – also a police officer – were given devastating news that Mercy had a cancerous brain tumour. There was no cure, and doctors told them she had just eight to eleven months to live.
Nine months later, Lorraine and Paul lost Mercy.
“There are no words,” she said, adding: “There is literally not a word within the English language that can describe what it means to lose a child.”
Lorraine speaks openly about grief. Nearly two years on, Mercy is the last thing she thinks about at night and the first thought every morning. She visits her daughter’s grave every single day. The loss, she said, has changed every part of who she is.
Despite receiving the worst news imaginable, Mercy never complained. She remained funny, strong and full of humour – a child with wisdom far beyond her years.
Strength
“She had all the values you’d want in an adult,” Lorraine continued. “But she was only six.”
It is Mercy’s strength that now inspires Lorraine to keep going.
In the depths of unimaginable grief, Lorraine and Paul made a decision – not to retreat from the world, but to give something back to it.
Inspired by Mercy’s courage, they established Mercy’s Mighty Foundation, a registered charity created entirely from love and loss. The foundation supports children newly diagnosed with brain tumours and cancer by providing ‘dream craft boxes’ – carefully put together packs designed to bring comfort, creativity and moments of normality at the most devastating point in a family’s journey.
The charity recently reached a significant milestone, having now supported more than 250 children nationwide. Hospitals use the boxes as part of their onboarding process for families facing a diagnosis, offering a small but powerful gesture at a time when everything feels overwhelming.
“Mercy loved crafting,” Lorraine explained. “Her drawings are the things you would save in a fire if you had to. This is about giving children something familiar, something that helps them still feel like children.”
Charity
Every penny raised goes directly into the charity’s work. Lorraine and Paul take nothing.
“As long as we’re breathing, Mercy will be remembered,” Lorraine says. “This gives us focus. It gives us comfort. It means her name is still being spoken.”
Throughout Mercy’s illness, Lorraine and Paul were supported by Northumbria Police, the Police Federation and their colleagues, who gave them the space to spend their daughter’s final nine months together as a family. They travelled, made memories and packed a lifetime of love into that time.
Despite what she describes as ‘the hardest nine months imaginable’, Lorraine has continued to serve in policing – shaped by loss, but driven by compassion.
Now in her 21st year of service, Lorraine is a chief inspector in the people department and a silver public order commander. She is widely respected for her humility, empathy and welfare-centred leadership, and she continues to support colleagues and police families navigating grief, trauma and life-changing events.
Her commitment to inclusion and allyship has also been a defining part of her career. Lorraine was the first ally co-chair of an LGBT+ Policing Network within the UK. Despite facing challenges because she was not herself LGBT, she remained firm in her belief that allyship matters.
Leadership
Driven by genuine care, she self-funded a master’s degree focused on minority stress within LGBT Officers in Policing – helping to deepen understanding of how inclusion directly impacts wellbeing. Alongside this, she has organised national Policing conferences, raised thousands of pounds for charity, continued as a Silver Commander within the world of public order and consistently role-modelled inclusive leadership.
Her inspiration and leadership efforts have led to national and regional recognition. She was named runner-up in the most recent national Women in Policing Awards and was a winner at the local Pride in Policing Awards.
Lorraine does not see herself as inspirational, though, instead, she insists that Mercy is the inspiration.
But through courage, compassion and an unwavering commitment to turning pain into purpose, Lorraine continues to inspire those around her. She shows that policing is not only about operational excellence, but about humanity and hope, even in the darkest of times.
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