Joe Van Hoof still wears the same big smile and upbeat attitude that characterized his 28 years with the Ontario Provincial Police. Referring to his early retirement Joe chuckles, \u201cThe Harris government opened up a window and I jumped through it.\u201d He retired from the Huntsville detachment in 1999 but according to the Facebook group, If You Grew Up in Huntsville, there are lots of people that remember him fondly and with gratitude.<\/p>\n
Fifteen of the Van Hoof family members arrived in Canada from Holland in the 1950s. Joe grew up in Petawawa and recounts how he and some young buddies were accused of some minor vandalism, which he swears he did not do. \u201cI was interrogated though and my dad was called down to take me home and discipline me.\u201d He laughs, \u201cMaybe that was when I decided if I couldn’t beat ’em I’d join ’em!\u201d<\/p>\n
He took to policing immediately. He laughs, \u201cWhat wasn’t there to like? I was young, I got to drive around in a brand new car and meet people all day long.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before he was even assigned a uniform he was called to the scene of a bad motorcycle accident on the 401. He says, \u201cI was wearing the only good suit I owned and I was asked to hold down a 6′ 4\u201d guy with bones protruding through his skin to keep him from jostling in the ambulance. It was only a seven minute drive but it felt like seven hours.\u201d He adds, \u201cThat was it for that suit!\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Hoof’s first real posting was just outside of Detroit in March of 1973. It was a tumultuous time in the U.S. and there was spill-over into the Canadian border towns. He shakes his head, \u201cIt was a busy, busy posting. Trust me, there was no Timmie’s or going home for lunch back then.\u201d His wife Irena recalls, \u201cIt was so hot and humid and Joe was never home. I asked when we could leave almost immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Hoof applied for a transfer ‘north’ in part because Irena’s physician mother recommended a cooler climate for their son who suffered from celiac disease. (Joe and Irena have two sons: Christopher is an engineer in the U.S. and Julian works in finance on Bay Street.) Pelee Island was as north as they’d get for the next two years. It was a peaceful one-officer post with a tiny population. Joe recalls, \u201cSome days I didn’t even wear a uniform.\u201d He backtracks, “Maybe I shouldn’t say so since it’s against regulations. Irena wryly suggests, \u201cYou’ve been retired for almost 20 years. I don’t think it matters, Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n
The family was happy to finally arrive in Huntsville, which Joe remembers as a much quieter community than it is today. He reminisces, \u201cWhen you work in a detachment, it’s like family. We did lots of socializing with each other and out in the community too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Hoof feels that he was part of a golden age of policing. He recalls going into every hamlet and side-road in the large area the Huntsville detachment covered. He thinks that it should still be that way. He’s convinced that some areas never see a police officer unless there is a problem.<\/p>\n
I think it has become too reactive. In many ways I’m glad that I retired when I did. I believe in a proactive form of policing and while I’m sure there are those who would disagree, I just don’t think it’s done that way now. That’s a shame in my opinion. Years ago if your mailbox was damaged or your lawn decorations stolen a police officer would come out and write up a report. Now you’re directed to your insurance company.Joe Van Hoof on how policing has changed<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Joe was a fan of the small log Community Policing building by the swing bridge where OPP officers took turns being available in a friendly and non-intimidating way.<\/p>\n
Sergeant Dick Wood asked Joe to act as a Youth Officer in a role that a Forester<\/em> write-up at that time called \u201cpreventative policing”. Van Hood recalls, \u201cIf a young person came to our attention, he\/she would have to deal with me. I never wanted to give a young person a record that would follow him or her around forever unless I really had to.\u201d He explains that this kind of policing involves building relationships founded on trust that goes both ways. \u201cBefore this model we just applied the law in a hard-nosed kind of way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prior to policing the halls of HHS, Van Hoof visited eight elementary schools, which were part of the Values, Influence and Peers (VIP) program, which helped students in Grades 6, 7 and 8 make informed choices related to values and the law. He calls Harry Brown, who taught at Spruce Glen, a “different kind of teacher”. Brown was also Joe’s much-admired mentor. Brian Wilson (probation officer) spoke to the students about his work and Canadian Tire manager Pat Lynch explained the real harm of shoplifting. \u201cSome kids thought of it as a victimless crime and it opened their eyes.\u201d At the end of the course the kids put on a play for the entire school dressed as judges, police officers and lawyers and shared what they’d learned.<\/p>\n
Joe was a bit of a rebel. Wearing the OPP cap was a part of the uniform and you were to have it on at all times when you were working. \u201cBut you have to use common sense. There were some times when the cap might have seemed intimidating so I took it off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Irena says that she never worried about Joseph while he was at work until the awful day in 1981 when OPP Constable Richard Verdecchia was shot and killed by two armed robbers when he stopped to offer assistance to a vehicle that had entered a roadside ditch. That shift was supposed to be Joe’s.<\/p>\n
Most of Van Hoof’s time in Huntsville was in some form of Public Relations. It suited his outgoing persona.<\/p>\n
Van Hoof spent his last five years at Huntsville High School in Youth Policing. He knew everyone and they knew him. When he was thrown from his horse and injured, dozens of kids made a gigantic card and sent messages of encouragement. He was a respected and well-liked presence at the school.<\/p>\n\n\t\t