Gerard F. Downes began his career in law enforcement in October 1976 as a Deputy Sheriff with the Wayne County Sheriff's Department, Honesdale, Pennsylvania.  In 1978, Gerry joined the Honesdale Police Department, Honesdale, Pennsylvania and worked both patrol and criminal matters.  In December 1980, Gerry joined the Pennsylvania State Police and was initially assigned to the Troop K Philadelphia Patrol Section.  He later transferred to Troop R Honesdale and Troop M Stockertown where he worked both patrol and criminal investigations.

In 1984, Gerry joined the FBI and was initially assigned to a two Agent Resident Agency in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.  Gerry was responsible for investigating all Federal crimes that occurred in the twelve Northeastern counties of North Carolina. 

In 1988, Gerry was transferred to the FBI’s Boston, Massachusetts office and was assigned to a Bank Robbery and Violent Crimes Task Force.  The task force was responsible for investigating bank robberies, kidnappings, extortions and all other violent crime cases that occurred in the Greater Boston area.  In 1986, Gerry was given the added responsibility of being the FBI liaison officer to Boston’s Logan Airport.  In that capacity, he was responsible for investigating all Federal violations involving domestic and international air travel. 

In 1991, Gerry was transferred to the FBI’s Springfield, Massachusetts resident agency and assigned to handle all Federal violent crime matters that occurred in the four Western counties of Massachusetts.  In 1994, Gerry was involved in the investigation of child serial killer Lewis Lent and he administered the sixty investigator Lewis Lent Task Force for the FBI.  Lent was ultimately convicted of those crimes and is currently serving a life sentence.

In 1995, Gerry was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent and transferred to the newly established Child Abduction Serial Killer Unit (CASKU) in Quantico, Virginia.  He served in that position until June 2006, and during his tenure, the Unit name was changed to the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC), Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU).   The BAU provides immediate investigative and behavioral assistance to Local, State, Federal and International Law Enforcement Agencies in all types of violent crime cases, including child abductions and mysterious disappearance of children, serial murder, single homicides, serial rape, extortion, threats, kidnapping, product tampering, arson and bombing, weapons of mass destruction, public corruption, and domestic and international terrorism. 

In July, 2006, Gerry assumed his current position as Assistant Legal Attaché in Vancouver, BC.  In this position, Gerry is responsible for coordinating all FBI investigations with Canadian Authorities in the province of British Columbia, Alberta and the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

Gerry is a graduate of the University of Scranton, Scranton, Pennsylvania.  He is an active member of the British Columbia Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Homicide Investigators Association, the International Criminal Investigative Analysis Fellowship Program, Williams Associates of the New York State Police and the Arizona, North Carolina and Virginia State Homicide Investigators Associations.   He and his wife, Elaine, have been married for 32 years and they have one daughter.