Coffee with a Cop breaks down barriers between community and local police officers
QUAKERS HILL LAC commander Superintendent David Jones’ new initiative of chatting with the community over a cup of coffee is brewing up plenty of goodwill among residents.
Rouse Hill
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QUAKERS HILL LAC commander Superintendent David Jones’ new initiative of chatting with the community over a cup of coffee is brewing up plenty of goodwill among residents.
More than 80 cups were served up for residents outside the Michels Patisserie outlet at Stanhope Village on Wednesday during the first ‘Coffee with a Cop’ morning organised by Quakers Hill LAC.
Supt. Jones, who took over as Quakers Hill LAC chief earlier this year, said he liked the idea of shouting a coffee for residents, which was first tried out successfully by Supt. Peter Lennon at Fairfield.
“We usually meet people in times of crisis or taking punitive action against crime but this Coffee with a Cop is different as residents can see we are also human and not autocratic figures,” Supt. said Supt Jones, who was accompanied by several of his officers.
“Some people are surprised when I greet them with “Hi, I’m David Jones of the Quakers Hill Police, can I buy you a coffee?’
“But this breaks down barriers between the community and us and shows we also people just like them and we are trying to do the best job we can.
“Our first day was fantastic as we had informal chats with many people and some of them spoke about their concerns and we gave them some advice as we like to solve problems.
“We also had interaction with kids who were happy to see us.
“We plan to have of these events at local shopping centres so we can meet the community in these informal get-togethers.”
The next ‘Coffee with a Cop’ is planned for Glenwood Shopping Centre on Wednesday, August 24 at 9.30am.