CHP Officers talk with community

By Gregg Scott, Plumas County News
Original article HERE

Four California Highway Patrol officers working the Chester Resident Post were at the Coffee Station in Chester on Aug. 17 as part of an outreach program called “Coffee with a Cop.”

The Chester Resident Post includes all state and county roads extending to Mineral (Hwy. 36) on the north, Coppervale (Hwy. 36) to the east, Canyon Dam (Hwy. 89 and SR 147) to the south and midway down Hwy. 32 to the west.

With approximately 200 state road miles, plus the county roads, it is quite an expansive region considering there are four patrol officers, one supervising sergeant and one commercial officer to cover the entire area.

When locals find out the nature of the patrol area, many of their questions are immediately answered as to why officers don’t spend more time in an area that concerns that particular resident.

Coffee with a Cop is designed as an opportunity for the public to interact with the officers on common ground in order to learn more about what they do on a daily basis.

Sergeant Townsend, Patrol Officers Howell and Twitchell, and Commercial Officer Culver talked with folks and answered questions about various duties and community concerns.

They will also be visiting Westwood, and the Susanville area is planning for similar events.

The concept of community policing can be much more successful if the community is involved, and getting to know the law enforcement personnel in the area is a huge step in the right direction.

As local resident Darrah Hopper quipped, “I’d much rather meet these officers here than wait and meet them on the road.”