Members of the Canton Township Police Department will be buying the coffee during the next Coffee with a Cop session.
The informal and informative gathering is set for 9 until 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at St. Michael Lutheran Church, 7000 Sheldon Road in Canton. The sessions are designed so members of the public can become more familiar with and informed about the local police department. Officers welcome input regarding neighborhoods and concerns of township residents.
Coffee with a Cop was launched in 2011 when officers from the Hawthorne California Police Department were looking for ways to interact more successfully with the citizens they served each day. Community policing has long been considered a framework for establishing trust between the community and the police. However, over time the character and composition of local communities have changed due to shifting demographics, more commuters, and the introduction of different communication methods such as websites and social media.
Coffee with a Cop events now take place in all 50 states and is one of the most successful community-oriented policing programs across the country. The program has also expanded to outside the Unites States to Canada, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Latin America. Coffee with a Cop opens the door for interactions outside of the crisis situations that typically bring law enforcement officers and community members together, officials said.
