Daughter of legendary Mansfield 'Robocop' given dad's badge number after joining Notts police

PC Rachel Evans has joined Nottinghamshire Police after hearing about her father Diederik Coetzee’s extraordinary career when he made national headlines for the number of arrests he made in Mansfield.

In a fitting tribute, she has been given Diederik’s old collar number that he wore while making 309 arrests in the town in 2005.

Her father’s policing career was cut short in 2011 when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver as he cycled to the gym and sustained serious head injuries.

Diederik spent 15 months in hospital and rehabilitation centres before retiring on medical grounds and it was during a visit to see her father in hospital that Rachel began to think about a career in policing.

The 31-year-old, who has joined the Response team at Jubilee House police station in Mansfield, said: “My dream job as a child was to be a police officer but I ended up going down a different avenue, studying film at university.

"Then my dad had the accident and it made me rethink I wanted to do.

“I would visit my dad in hospital and his colleagues were there telling me stories about how amazing he was at his job as a police officer.”

Rachel has been working as a police community support officer for the last eight years and was among 47 new recruits who passed out at a ceremony at Sherwood Lodge HQ yesterday (Friday, August 6).

The parade was overseen by Chief Constable Craig Guildford, after the recruits completed an 18-week training programme.

Dressed in full uniform, Rachel said she was proud to be wearing her father’s old collar number, 2450.

She added: “It means a lot to me as it’s carrying on his legacy.

"He’s such an inspirational person and had such a positive impact on the community he policed.”

Moments after the ceremony, Mr Coetzee gave his daughter a huge hug.

He said: “I’m so proud of her.

"I’ve been waiting for this day – it’s nice to have a police officer in the family again.

“She’s got to make well over 300 arrests in one year to beat my record.

"It’s a big target but she’ll do it.

"She’s certainly got the brains to do it.”

During their 18-week training programme, the new recruits who have now been deployed across Nottinghamshire, completed a mix of classroom training and operational attachments with their tutors.

Chief Constable Craig Guildford commented: “I’d like to congratulate the officers for completing their training and wish them well on their policing journey.

“They are another example of our commitment to expanding the force and recruiting people with a wide range of experiences and backgrounds."

Earlier this year, it was revealed an intensive recruitment drive had swelled Nottinghamshire Police’s officer ranks to its highest number for nearly a decade with 2,224 officers, up by 245 (12.4 per cent) since October 2019.

Nottinghamshire Police is also in the top number of forces in the country to recruit just as many women as men between April 2020 and March 2021 and a fifth of its new officers from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds.

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