Retired Halton Regional Police Service Chief James (Jim) Harding will be remembered as a visionary leader who pioneered community policing in the region.
Many have said Harding, who died last week, led Halton policing to its place of respect today.
Hired in 1979, he remained with HRPS until his retirement in 1994.
HRPS Inspector John van der Lelie, who’s been a member of the HRPS since 1967 and served under Harding for several years, said the former chief was passionate about everything he did. He called him a gifted speaker, respected and admired by everyone; someone who was passionate about interacting with the public and being open and honest with the media.
That started with community policing. As the new Halton Police chief in 1979, Harding first set about changing the name from “Force” to “Service.” He believed the HRPS was an agency to serve the public, not be a force against it.
“He led Ontario policing in this, to interact with the community; it wasn’t just catching bad guys,” van der Lelie said.
Further, Harding was a founder and great champion of an informal discipline system within the police service.
“Police sometimes need to be disciplined, rather than laying charges, going to court, and he said there has to be an avenue where the officer can be held accountable,” van der Lelie said. “Where both parties agree on appropriate discipline and it’s currently in the Police Services Act and used today.”
Van Der delie said Harding often offered him words of advice. In particular, one stands out.
“He said, ‘John, the word discipline comes from disciple, to teach, not to punish,' and I always remembered that and it was effective. The whole idea to have them disciplined and improve their performance.”
It was under Harding’s leadership that Halton Police got its first boat patrol.
Van der Lelie said the Toronto Star sponsored the first boat, and he laughed recalling that the boat launch came with a huge media event — but somehow, they forgot to invite the Star to the event.
In addition, he recalled Harding as a gifted speaker.
“He could get up at the drop of a dime, and easily articulate a meaningful 40-minute speech,” he said. “He was a gifted leader.”
Harding was instrumental in getting shoulder flashers and used his creativity to engineer that process. That attention to detail was also clear in a hobby that he enjoyed: crafting to-scale boat models by hand.
Van der Lelie said he still has the boat Harding created for him, and that there's one in the police headquarters boardroom today and in current Chief Stephen Tanner's office. “He knew the history of every boat as well.”
“He was passionate about policing and about new things, and the passion was infectious to all who worked for him,” he added. “He was passionate about the boat, community policing, engaging with the public, and you’d feel that anytime that you spoke with him. Even after he retired, I’d see him once in a while and he’d always want to talk to about the job. Officers and senior officers called him to get guidance and advice.”
Serving under Harding, Van der Lelie said, he was also passionate about media relations, and it was one of his many roles with Halton Police.
“He was pretty keen on that; he had this very ethical way of dealing with the media. He said we’re bound to screw up on something and there’s always this notion to sort of skim over it or not report it or try to wheel it in some other way. He wanted us to tell them the truth and be held accountable; he’d say it will look bad for a day and it worked out so well so many times in the press.”
He was also in charge of the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU). Van der Lelie said the original SIU attracted a lot of criticism from the police community, so as president of the Ontario Police Academy, Harding asked the Attorney General to do an audit to see how effective the SIU was.
“It reflects how well it runs today and I think it runs very well and they are very credible."
Van der Lelie said Harding was a decorated member of the British military (even a paratrooper) and served in Korea, the Suez conflict and the Malayan Emergency.
Harding immigrated to Canada from Wales and served with police in Toronto and Brampton, where he was inspector. When Halton regionalized in 1974, Harding came in and took the helm.
Former HRPS Staff Sergeant Murray Drinkwalter said Harding was responsible for making the police service what it is today.
“The chief did a lot for this police service and he’s responsible for making it the service that it has become,” he said. “He rejuvenated the aspect of community policing in Halton to what is is today – one of the best nationally, if not globally, in my opinion.”
Drinkwalter recalled meeting Harding for the first time.
“I was lying on a stretcher at Joseph Brant Hospital; I had gotten into a physical altercation out on Plains Road, and was taken to hospital by ambulance,” he said. “In walks Chief Harding. That’s the kind of man he was. I don’t have a bad thing to say about the man.”
He said that Harding brought a fresh vision to the police service based on principles and theories of police management. He said the chief set about upgrading the service's equipment and got it the best.
HRPS board chair Jeff Knoll said, “We are all saddened by his passing. He was the founder of the service back when the Region of Halton was developed in the 1970s and set the stage that Halton has been able to maintain over the years, management and focus, and community policing.”
Knoll said Harding’s contribution went beyond his time as chief, and he was a close advisor to board chairs and members up until recently.
“He was always very interested in what we were doing. We were very enriched by his presence when he came to special events,” he added. “He was incredibly proud of the force and how it continued in his mind; how he had set it up, the spirit of the force got bigger and better.
“He was truly our North Star when it came to the service, looking to where it is and where it needs to be,” he said. “We have a richer and a better community for the service he gave."
Chief Harding will be remembered with a full police service with an honour guard and the Police Choir (which he also founded).
"We will send him off with the great respect and admiration that he deserves,” van der Lelie said.
“Jim was an incredible leader,” said Halton Police Chief Tanner, in a Tweet that shared of a photo of the two of them in the 1980s. “My first chief, leader and friend to many of us.”
Harding was married to wife Paula for 51 years. He was father to Karl (Olympia) Harding, Rhiannon (Brian) Bonnick, and Garth Dangerfield and grandfather to Shawn, Stewart, Brittney, Wyatt, Ryan Michael and Sophia, and great-grandfather to Kinsley, Braelyn and Greyson.
A private cremation has taken place. Memorial visitation will be held at Smith’s Funeral Home, 1167 Guelph Line on Nov. 9, from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. The funeral service will be held on Nov. 10 at 11 a.m. at Compass Point Bible Church, 1500 Kerns Rd. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to The Canadian National Institute for the Blind would be appreciated by the family.
