Long-serving police officer to retire

Wash Common resident Dave Stubbs is to call time on his career after 43 years of public service

ONE of Newbury's longest-serving police officers is set to retire.

Wash Common resident Dave Stubbs, aged 59, is to call time on his career after 43 years of public service, having transferred to Newbury in 1973.

He joined the Metropolitan Police as a cadet at Hendon in 1968, and his first posting was to Kensington in West London on embassy protection duties.

He said his ambitions all along however were for community policing, and eventually made the switch to Newbury.

As he loved bringing his family up in the area so much, he spent the rest of his career based in the town.

Intrigued by the way that road layouts and building designs made life easier for criminals, for the last 16 years of his career, Mr Stubbs has worked with planners, developers and architects to try and make communities safer as the Crime Prevention Design Adviser for Berkshire.

He was the first officer in the country to achieve a Master's Degree in Crime Prevention and Community Safety and has been commended by the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police as being a leader in the field of crime prevention through environmental design.

He said: “Every time I see a young citizen of Newbury who maybe didn't get into trouble because a warning word I dropped in their ear struck home, or pass a new development which has been built to proper security standards I was able to incorporate, that's as good a legacy as it gets, and now I can look forward to giving some time back to my incredibly supportive wife and children and enjoying life, especially my two lovely grandsons and my many hobbies and interests.”