‘Making a difference’ – long serving Sleaford copper retires after 28 years on the beat

Throughout his career with Lincolnshire Police, PC Martin Green has held a variety of roles from response to firearms, roads policing to neighbourhood policing team leader and latterly rural and wildlife crime as part of the Rural Crime Action Team since it was formed in 2021.

Reflecting on his career ahead of his retirement, and when asked if he’d encourage others to do the same, he said: “Damn right I would! It’s a fantastic job as long as you’re willing to be more personal. It’s not an easy job to do, it’s a vocation of life. You’ve got to have your heart in it to do it properly.

“Policing has changed tremendously over the years. It has its up and downs, some of the things we have to deal with aren’t very nice, but it’s a case of trying to give a good service no matter the job.”

He said: “When I joined the police all I wanted to do was make a difference, deal with criminals, help victims, put people on the straight and narrow. It’s the reassurance side I’ve been involved and interested in. I’ve just wanted to get out and speak to victims and not just give them a crime number and say goodbye but give them peace of mind that the police are interested and are going to do as much as possible to try and resolve the issue.”

Martin said having good communication skills are crucial. “I’m old, I can get grumpy and frustrated with people, but you’ve got to be able to talk to somebody, from all walks of life, and you need to talk to everybody the same, and at their level.”

Reflecting he added: “It’s been a very busy, full-on career. I never switch off and I’m more than willing to jump out and do things off duty. I just want to help the community.

“On the rural crime side of things, I think I’ll always remain a part of it, mainly as a contact to support my colleagues. Rural crime isn’t just about animals. It’s about everything, the local community.

“There have been a lot of achievements over the years, but you can’t do anything on your own in policing – it’s impossible. But we’ve got a good, small team of officers, who are really keen on rural crime, and that means a lot because I know I can step back, and they can continue to make a positive impact on rural crime in the county.

“They’ve got some work to catch up with – but If I can do it, anybody can!”

Looking ahead to retirement he said: “I cannot wait to have more time with my family and my grandson especially. It’ll be brilliant to take him to and from school. It’s also a new period of my life and it’s about time I went.”