Interacting with people was officer's hallmark
Marlboro Capt. Doug Van Note retires after 30 years of service
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer
Afew days past his annive rsary of 30 years of service, Marlboro Police Department Capt. Douglas Van Note will walk out of police headquarters toward a new life after his retirement.

Capt. Douglas Van Note

Van Note's last day as a captain with the force is Sept. 30. He approached his pending departure with mixed emotions.

"I'm looking forward to going to my new career and a new chapter in my life, but 30 years here is a long time. And 30 years of making new friends and working with the community, just to walk away from it is hard," Van Note said.

The captain, who has lived in Marlboro since 1963, always knew that he wanted to be involved with his community in some way. While he was in high school, Van Note considered becoming a paramedic, but in 1977 that type of position was still new and the availability of jobs was not great. Instead he chose to help Marlboro's residents through police work.

"I knew with law enforcement (that I) would not do the same thing every day. You would always do something new and more challenging," he said, noting that the field always keeps an individual's mind active.

In 1975, Van Note worked as a dispatcher with the Marlboro Police Department. He left after a year to work with the state Department of Human Services as a police officer and was assigned to the former Marlboro State Psychiatric Hospital.

After graduating from the police academy in June 1979, Van Note was hired as an officer with the Marlboro Police Department in September 1979.

Through 30 years the captain has seen many changes to the police department, most significant has been its growth. Van Note said that when he started there were about 30 officers and the department had just moved into its current location on Township Drive.

In the three decades since Van Note joined the force, Marlboro's population has grown to more than 42,000 people and the police department now employs 70 sworn officers, he said.

Van Note said he has had a charmed life with Marlboro's police department. After just three years of patrol duty he was brought into specialized units, including the street crimes division.

Joseph Walker, who was the police chief at the time, then appointed Van Note as head of crime prevention. The chief's desire was for the police department to be proactive as the township grew.

Van Note spent his time advising residents and providing them with information on ways to prevent crimes, rather than teaching lessons after the fact. With little to no financial resources available for that job, Van Note was charged with the task of getting the community involved without a high cost.G

iven that task, Van Note formed Municipal Owned Vehicles Against Crime (MOVAC), which is still in existence in Marlboro.

The concept of MOVAC was to employ the help of those who knew Marlboro best — the people who worked on the township's roads. Road department personnel, school bus drivers and mail carriers were asked to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity on the streets they traveled on a daily basis.

Van Note said the initiative appeared to work since people who might be planning one type of crime or another had to wonder if they were being watched by more than just police officers on patrol.

"And that cost absolutely nothing. It cost the time of myself going and giving instructions to the employees," Van Note said, explaining that most of the municipal employees at the time lived in town and wanted to keep their community safe.

Years later the initiative still works and has been expanded to residents themselves calling in tips about suspicious activity. Van Note said Marlboro residents are so aware of what is happening in their neighborhood that it has caused some problems for federal investigators.

"We've had federal agencies do surveillance in our town and they call us and say, 'We can't do surveillance in your town because every time we stop someplace one of your residents calls (police) and the police car comes rolling up on us,' " Van Note said. "That's how we have a safe community."

In keeping with his belief of having community involvement, Van Note and his fellow officer, the late Robert Tossie, founded the Marlboro Police Explorers program in 1982.

The Police Explorers are young adults who work with the police department and explore careers in law enforcement. The Explorers volunteer their time to take part in activities in Marlboro and beyond. The post has a significant history of former Explorers who have gone on to careers in law enforcement in Marlboro and up to the federal level.

Van Note also played a role in bringing police officers into Marlboro's schools. The move was not done to intimidate youngsters, but was done to reach out to the children in the community, he explained.

The captain said the police officers knew how to communicate with adults, but he explained that a lot of issues the department handles deal with children. From bullying to vandalism, Van Note felt that if the police officers could reach the youths some problems might be resolved.

To bring officers into the schools, Van Note led the department to participate in the new Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program in 1991.

In recalling his explanation to the chief for entering the schools, Van Note said, "We are not going to go to schools because of being security. I want to be in the schools to be a part of the schools. To have the kids see us from the time they start kindergarten and get to know us and not to be afraid of us."

Van Note became the first DARE officer in Marlboro, launching a pilot program at the Marlboro Elementary School in 1992. The captain was the third DARE officer in Monmouth County.

Marlboro now has a school resource officer (SRO) in all of its buildings all the way up through high school. Van Note said the SROs are respected at every school and are trusted by the students.

With more than 30 years' experience in the department, Van Note said he never had to draw his weapon. His philosophy has always been to show respect, even to individuals who were being arrested.

"If you treated them as a person, you always got much further," Van Note said.

The police department's officers are big on professionalism, being strict when needed but never disrespecting the uniform they wear, Van Note said.

With Van Note's departure, Police Chief Bruce E. Hall said those who follow him will have very large shoes to fill.

"He is one of those unique individuals," Hall said of Van Note.

The chief said while some police officers look at life and their role with a macho attitude, Van Note saw past that to attend to the community's needs.

"Everything Doug did, he did with the community's interest in mind. He has truly been an invaluable asset to the organization and to the community at large," Hall said.

The captain will now begin a new phase of his life working in Chicago as a consultant for a private company. His new position will allow him to travel, an adventure to which Van Note is looking forward.

"I'm going to walk away from a lot of good friends and co-workers, so it's going to be difficult," Van Note said of his pending departure.

He said he has faith the police department will continue moving forward in keeping the community involved under Hall's leadership.

"We are here to give back to the community. We have a great group of officers," Van Note said, adding that the department's employees always give 110 percent effort to their jobs.