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‘Coffee with a Cop’ events bring residents closer to local law enforcement
Multiple police departments across the country are celebrating Coffee with a Cop to improve relations with the residents they serve.
The Hawthorne, Calif. Police Department launched the event in 2011 after brainstorming ways to interact better with the public they served, according to the Coffee with A Cop website. Seven years later, Coffee with a Cop is held in police departments in all 50 states as well as in Canada, Europe, Australia, Africa and Latin America.
“One day — and a few cups of coffee — is all you need to start strengthening the relationship between police and members of the community. No agendas, no barriers — it just takes the willingness to sit down, listen and have a conversation,” Cayuga County, N.Y. Sheriff David Gould said in a release, according to AuburnPub.com.
Gould’s department will be holding the event on Wednesday, Oct. 3, AuburnPub.com reports. It will be the third year that the department has participated in the event, and members of the Cayuga County Sheriff’s Department will meet with the public from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at two locations in the county that day.
Law enforcement officials have touted Coffee with a Cop as a great way to improve community policing.
“We believe strongly in community-oriented public service,” St. Charles, Ill., Police Chief Jim Keegan told the Daily Herald. “Our officers look forward to getting out and meeting our residents and having face-to-face conversations. We’re grateful to McDonald’s for hosting Coffee with a Cop again this year. It’s a great to bring police and the community together as partners in improving public safety. We’re all in this together.”
More police departments are adopting the event each year as well. This year marks the first time for instance, that the Sparta, N.J. Police Department will hold a Coffee with a Cop event, the Sparta Independent reports.
“We hope that we have many visitors come to this location to meet some of our local officers, to ask any questions about law enforcement and allow us to tell you about some of the great things we are doing in Sparta,” Sparta Police Chief Neil Spidaletto told the Independent.
