Coffee with a Cop in Chesapeake highlights crime updates and officer recruiting

Davis-Prescott, an agency official with the Chesapeake Police Department, said "Coffee with a Cop is an event that the Chesapeake Police Department participates in," describing it as an opportunity for officers to meet residents at a local business and share information in a relaxed setting.

At the event Davis-Prescott said officers "set up tables like you'll see behind us. It has coffee cups on it, pens, it also has brochures," and that the gatherings let the department "get information out there about things that we want the community to know," such as spikes in larcenies and reminders to lock doors. They added that officers can take neighborhood concerns raised by attendees, "generate what we call a CSR and we send it over to the necessary City entity and they'll come out and fix whatever the issue is."

Davis-Prescott also said the events serve as a recruiting channel. "It also is a great way for us to promote recruiting," they said, adding that officers talk with people about "how to become a police officer, our Academy process, and get them in touch with our recruiter."

Resident Kennedy, who said she arrived for coffee and discovered the event, called it "a great idea." Kennedy said she had a chance to "find out how to lock up firearms" and that the event helps people "feel more comfortable with police officers." She told attendees she would have brought her grandchildren if it were not a school day so they could "meet the cops because that gives them an opportunity to meet them, and not fear them, and know that they are the good guys."

Organizers framed the event as trust-building based on face-to-face interaction: Davis-Prescott noted that "all these officers that you see here today or at any Coffee with a Cop event are officers that work in that area. They're answering calls in your neighborhoods. We're coming out and we're patrolling in your neighborhoods trying to keep them safe." That local presence, they said, helps residents put a face to officers they otherwise would only reach by phone.

No motions, votes or formal city actions were taken during the conversation. The event combined safety information, a channel for reporting neighborhood problems to city services and outreach aimed at recruiting potential applicants to the police department.