The Village of Hesperia recently hired Joel Catts as its new Chief of Police, filling a position that sat vacant for several months.
Joel grew up in the Cadillac area. He worked as a corrections officer in Wyoming, attended Ferris State University and graduated from the Police Academy at Grand Rapids Community College in 2018. Joel worked at the Lakeview Police Department and the Newaygo County Sheriff’s Department before accepting the job as police chief for the village.
Joel said that he believes “a strong and effective police department begins with open communication and a direct connection between the Chief of Police and the community.”
Chief Catts handed out signed Christmas cards from door-to-door to homes within the village to meet the residents individually and to reconnect with those who he has already met. “That experience was extremely rewarding and reinforced my commitment to community-oriented policing,” he said, adding that he was demonstrating his dedication to “being visible, accessible and invested in the well-being of the community.”
During its search to fill the vacant police chief position, the village had coverage from both the Oceana and Newaygo County sheriff departments and state police and it had a monetary agreement with Oceana County for additional police protection.
