About The Author
Before living in the city of Chino, California - Albert Vande Steeg was actually born and raised in the Netherlands at the beginning of the Nazi occupation of Holland during World War II. This is what would be the start of a long and hard-fought road with challenges for Albert throughout his life.
It was only later that he would escape from this Nazi-occupied Holland with his family and they would then find their way as refugees - to California. He ended up going to Chaffey High school there and spent a large portion of his life in California growing up and making friends while going to high school.
Once he graduated, in order to test the waters, Albert first joined the Police Reserves in the City of Chino, CA. Once he found out that he had a talent for seeing injustice and corruption he then decided to make law enforcement his new
career. He left the construction trades that he was currently working on when he was hired by the City of Chino, CA. This like "going
home" to him as he graduated from Chaffey High School there and had lots of contacts.
He then walked the foot beat for four months checking store security downtown and worked four-hour shifts with a training officer. Ready or not, he was next assigned to a patrol beat in a solo unit on the graveyard shift. Learning as he went he completed his probationary year as a patrol officer.
The next assignment was the Police Academy for training in the Law of Arrest Search and Seizure, firearm training, self-defense training, etc. Graduating second in the class he returned to patrol, working the south side of town where the majority of people were minorities. Being an immigrant himself, he understood the adjustments in working with new ethnic groups and races.
In his sixth year, he was promoted to the Detective Bureau Juvenile Division and later to crimes of violence and then narcotics and vice.
In his sixth year, he was promoted to the Detective Bureau Juvenile Division and later to crimes of violence and then narcotics and vice.
Publications
The Dutch Winter by
Albert Vande Steeg
Publications
The Canopy by
Albert Vande Steeg
Based On True Events...
True Crime
Albert's stories that he shares through his books titled the "Black Band" and "The Canopy" are based on real-life experiences and hardships that he saw while serving eight years on the Ontario Police force following the start of his career in Chino, CA. What follows are true crimes that they had to witness, people coping with addiction and mental health, and the hardships of having to be on the force. From catching burglars in the act of committing crimes, discovering evidence of a robbery/homicide during a routine parole check, and attempting to clean up prostitution and drug dealing.
First Person Perspective
Although "The Canopy" is told from the perspective of a Police Bar and the events that take place are only based on true stories - it gives you a first-person perspective of what it is like to be a police officer, and understand what these people have to go through every day, and the hardships and heartbreaks that they've seen while working for the Police Department. There are very few works out there that you'll be able to find that shed the same sort of light and puts you in the shoes of real-life police officers, their experiences, heartaches, and hardships.
Told by a Veteran
Albert's started his career in the Police Force since he was 24 years old. This means that he has seen a lot of different things while serving on the force and gone through many different experiences which have shaped him as a person and molded his personality. These experiences are what he writes about in his books. He even served seven on the Board of the Ontario Police Officer's Association as president during his career. Since he was so active in serving the needs of the board, he earned a lot of respect from the Police Force and fellow officers, and this earned him the title "the Policeman's Pal."