When was the last time you had a conversation with a cop?
Too often, our interactions with law enforcement are limited to “business-related” exchanges.
In an attempt to remedy that situation, the Columbus Police Department is holding a “Coffee With a Cop” event Thursday at Buffalo Wild Wings. The event will be held from 7:30 a.m. until 9 a.m. Residents who turn out will get free coffee and no speeches, CPD Chief Tony Carleton said.
Instead, it’s an opportunity for citizens to have an informal chat with the chief and officers. Bring your questions, your ideas and your observations.
Events such as these can help develop at partnership between law enforcement and the community it serves. Furthermore, they can help police better understand the needs of a community while hopefully empowering citizens to actively and willingly cooperate with police.
While police are rightly viewed as being ultimately responsible for a community’s safety, citizens should view law enforcement as a joint responsibility. We should all be comfortable striking up a conversation with a passing officer, sharing with them our observations.
Often, it is information provided by citizens that proves vital not only to solving crimes, but preventing them as well.
As we have seen in such places as Ferguson, Missouri, when there is an adversarial relationship between a community and its police department, there can be tragic consequences.
Whatever benefits may emerge from this meeting, we feel the greatest outcome is that the coffee conversations will reinforce the idea that a community’s relationship with its police department is mutually beneficial. So we urge citizens to turn out for Thursday’s coffee and conversation and, assuming this event is a success, we urge the CPD to make this a regular event, perhaps at different locations throughout the city.
We applaud the CPD for reaching out. We hope residents respond accordingly.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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