If you’ve ever wanted to approach a police officer with a question, but been too afraid to ask, your chance is about to come.
Starting next week, Mounties at Richmond RCMP will kick off a city-wide series aimed at getting to know our communities and the people that live in them better.
It’s hoped “Coffee with a Cop,” as it’s being called, will encourage residents to get out and have an informal chat with the officers serving their community, thus developing trust via more face-to-face interactions.
It all begins next Tuesday, Jan. 30 in Hamilton, where members of the RCMP detachment will invite locals to have a cup of coffee with them and ask them, well, just about anything they want.
“The questions can be pretty broad, it doesn’t have to be anything specific,” explained Sgt. Ted Lewko, of Richmond RCMP Client Services, whose idea it was to host Coffee with a Cop in Richmond.
“It can be about issues in their neighbourhood or maybe they’re interested in joining the police; it can be a very open-ended, one on one chat.”
Lewko, who has worked in Richmond for 18 months, told how the idea has been around in other jurisdictions in North America for some time.
“When I was in Surrey, I did it there; it’s a great chance for the public to get to meet the police and ask questions,” he added.
“The ones I went to (in Surrey), were in coffee shops and they were pretty packed. Some areas in Richmond might not have a coffee shop, so we might have it in a community centre.”
Asked if they’re thinking of hosting Bubble Tea with a Cop, given Richmond’s now majority ethnic Chinese population, Lewko said, “You never know, we will see how it goes.”
Lewko said, as well as himself and other members from community relations, he expects crime prevention officers to be in attendance.
“And I’ll be opening it up to general duty officers; if they’re in the area, they can drop in,” he said.
Richmond RCMP’s Acting Cpl Adriana Peralta said the plan is for the detachment to reach out to as many communities as possible, with initial plans to do one event per month.
“We recognize that each community is unique in its own way and we want to hear from them, whether it’s City Centre or Steveston,” said Peralta.
“Even if it’s just to ask us what it’s like to be a police officer. We just really want to put a face to us.
“The uniform and the car can be really hard to see past sometimes and we want the community to understand that we’re invested in them and their community.
“We want to make it a good city and want that good connectedness and we want people to see us in a more casual setting, as opposed to seeing us in a moment of crisis.”
Communication with certain communities in Richmond has been raised in the past by police, especially in some predominantly ethnic Chinese neighbourhoods, where trust of authority can be an issue.
“If you make that personal connection, they may, down the line, be more open to working with the police or if they see something happening in their neighbourhood, they may call us,” acknowledged Lewko.
“It will definitely break down barriers, but not just with the Chinese community; it can be due to age, race, any barrier that we can break down is good.
“Even if you can reach a little part of that community, the hope is that they tell their friends and peers, ‘hey, I went for a coffee with this cop and it was great.’ It could be like a domino-effect.”
And if Coffee with a Cop arrives in a community where language is going to be a barrier, Peralta said they will reach out to their members in the detachment who can speak that particular language.
In the meantime, if someone feels their community would benefit from Coffee with a Cop, Lewko and Peralta are all ears.
Richmond RCMP’s first Coffee with a Cop will be at Hamilton Community Centre, 5140 Smith Drive on Tuesday, Jan. 30 from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
