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Coffee with a Cop brings together police, residents
By Dom Pruett, The Reporter
Original article HERE
Fairfield residents and members of the Fairfield Police Department connected Saturday morning at Starbucks in Cordelia to share coffee over a hearty discussion of community matters.
Coffee with a Cop, now a routine event with the Fairfield Police Department, as well as department’s nationwide, allows citizens to ask questions or air out concerns with their local law enforcement officers in a safe and casual setting.
“This is the number one way of getting out there and listening to people’s concerns,” said Fairfield police Crime Prevention Specialist, and Coffee with a Cop Organizer Jeff Conner. This event allows us to get a lot of bang for our buck. We’re only here for two hours, but were making good, meaningful contact.”
Conner added, “We’ve heard questions from parking to burglary prevention.”
It was recent “changes” within the department that led to Fairfield resident Nora Dizon attending the event.
“We’re getting a new chief, and there have been some changes to the neighborhood watch program,” Dizon said.
Neighborhood Watch, Dizon believes, is a great way for residents to stay up to date on events in the community.
“I hope more citizens get involved because our department does a great job cultivating interest in it,” she said.
Richard Hilman came with his brother-in-law, and fellow Fairfield resident Miguel Baez to get an update on crime in Fairfield, as well as to inquire about surveillance cameras.
“There were a couple of things that happened in our neighborhood the last few months that concerned me,” Hilman said. “I also wanted to learn about registering a surveillance camera with the police department network.”
Verna Brooks, a former Community Service Commissioner for the city of Fairfield, came to show her support for the Fairfield Police Department, and offer her services in cleaning up the city of crime.
“I’m seeing seen a downward spiral in our communities,” Brooks said. “It’s very important to get involved and start to work with folks who are starting to help us and let them know what our concerns are and find out how we can help them as well.”
Brooks said that for Fairfield to thrive, both Fairfield police and citizens have to trust one another. “If the community doesn’t help, we can’t blame it on the police,” she said. “If they have our backs, we have their backs.”
Though Conner was quick to point out that crime has, in fact, declined in Fairfield, according to statistics, now is not the time for him and his colleagues to get complacent.
“We’re happy that crimes are down, but that doesn’t mean we can sit back,” he said. As Conner noted earlier, Coffee with a Cop is just one simple way not only to make Fairfield a safer place but to also make its residents feel like their voices can be heard.
“Come out and ask a question,” urged Conner. “This is the perfect opportunity for people to come out and let us know what is on their mind.”
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