A former South African police officer who moved to Britain for a career change has won the dubious distinction of becoming Britain’s ”most arresting” police officer, The Times reported on Thursday.
Police Constable Diederik Coetzee (48) has been acclaimed for making 309 arrests so far this year in the northern British county of Nottinghamshire, compared with an average 9,5 arrests per year by the police forces in England and Wales.
Coetzee has already surpassed the previous British record of 305 arrests for a single year with one month to go.
”It’s a joy getting up each morning for work. For me it really is a way of life. In South Africa, I wore a bulletproof vest and carried a shotgun and sidearm. I was shot at by car thieves and burglars on an almost daily basis,” Coetzee told The Times.
”At least that doesn’t happen here. All I carry is a CS gas canister and a baton. So, from a policing point of view, it’s something like paradise.” — Sapa-DPA