A recently elected police and crime commissioner who served as a police officer for 15 years believes his experience will help him hold his old force to account.
Gary Godden was appointed PCC for Nottinghamshire in May, several years after retiring from his police career in 2015.
In his new role, he will hold the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police to account, oversee crime prevention and set policing priorities.
In an interview nearly 100 days after his swearing-in, Godden denied that his experience had made him too close to the police and that he had “gone from being a poacher to being a game warden.”
“Being a police officer gives me real insight not only into policing, but also into the struggles and conflicts that some of our communities face,” he said.
“It’s really important that I understand this.”
Mr Godden spent the first seven years of his life in children’s homes in Shropshire run by Barnardo’s Children’s Charity before being adopted by his social worker – an experience he says inspired him to become a police officer.
“I felt valued,” he said.
“I felt like I was getting a proper education. That I was being fed properly.
“The basic things you need to be a productive person in society.
“Sometimes some of these building blocks are left out.”
During his career as a police officer, Godden worked for a time on a multi-agency team called Vaguard Plus, which he said helped offenders and their families dissuade them from gang violence.
“It’s challenging, but also very, very rewarding. And the thoughts people have about these individuals change their perspective,” he said.
Mr Godden said his priority as PCC would be to improve neighbourhood policing so that local teams solve problems and keep people safe in their communities – an approach inspired by his own personal story.
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