Police officer known for high arrest rates is finally off duty - to begin retirement

A police officer with one of the highest consistent arrest rates in the Nottinghamshire force has retired.

Sergeant Bob Godber — a familiar face on the beat in Newark and Sherwood — is returning to civilian life, having dedicated his career to taking the criminal element off the streets.

Sergeant Godber described himself as an old-fashioned cop with an eye for detail — pulling over the right vehicle, chasing down a suspect, and, with his team, arriving with a warrant to arrest unsuspecting criminals in the early hours.

“For me, it was about coming into work to see who I could catch and take off the streets — the people who were wanted, particularly those who had been wanted for a long time and who had proved difficult to catch,” said Mr Godber, 48.

“The vast majority of people I came into contact with were decent, honest, law-abiding people. It was that tiny percentage I dedicated my time to catching.”

Sergeant Godber was known for what the criminals took to be a photographic memory.

“I remember everyone I have arrested since 1989 and have a thing for remembering numberplates,” he said.

“I threw myself into the job. We hounded them, the criminals, until they stopped or went to prison and I make no apology for that.”

He is the holder of several commendations and received the National Association of Retired Police Officers’ award in 1998 for his endeavour, but he said it was not the need for recognition that spurred him on.

“I have had some really good arrests and seen some good sentences passed,” he said.

“I do have some of the highest consistent arrest rates but, to be honest, it was about catching the people who hurt the community.

“It was the dealing with victims, reuniting them with their property that was stolen in burglaries that meant the most, not the certificates.

“The most important thing for me was the letter of thanks from a victim — they are worth more than any certificate.

“I have a letter from a child thanking me for catching the people who burgled her home.

“It was also about earning, and justifying, the money that I was being paid by the taxpayer.

“I had a responsibility to lock up people who had done wrong and to solve crimes.”

'I was never really off-duty'

Mr Godber said one of the hardest things about the job was switching off.

“I would make arrests on-duty and off. I was never really off-duty,” he said.

“I would think nothing of tackling an offender who was wanted while I was out or intervening if I saw domestic violence. I think that’s what people expect of a cop and I know of no cop who wouldn’t intervene in that circumstance. They are the values of policing.

“I remember once on the way back from the seaside I spotted a guy who was on the run from prison. I abandoned my family to arrest him and he punched me for my trouble.

“People put a lot of trust in the police and, in the main, unless you have a reason not to, they show us their respect and we have to respect them.”

With the exception of a short secondment to the drug squad at Radford Road Police Station, Nottingham, Sergeant Godber spent his entire career working in Newark and Sherwood, the district he calls home.

He broke off studying for a degree in fine art to join Nottinghamshire Constabulary when his daughter, Bethany, was born because he decided he needed stability and a steady income for his family’s future.

But, he said, he had been naive as to what to expect as police service at the time was highly regimented.

“You would be in trouble if you missed a broken windscreen or deflated tyre on your beat,” he said.

“I think that’s why I learned to retain so much of what I saw.

“You made sure your beat was secure. You took a pride in your beat.

“If I had a probationary officer in front of me now, the only advice I would give is to speak to everybody, even if they are, in society’s eyes, the lowest of the low.

“Sometimes I was asked: ‘Why are you bothering with them?’ The answer is that person might speak to you one day, or might need you one day. Treat them in a sympathetic manner.

“I have always treated people as I would want to be treated, or how my mum would have wanted to be treated — that was my benchmark.

“I will miss my colleagues and serving the people of Newark and Sherwood. I hope that they feel I have done them justice, because that means a great deal to me.”

Mr Godber has now returned to the arts. Two grandchildren, Amelia and Harry, arrived last year.