Coffee with a Cop builds relationships in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — With tensions between police departments and the public strained in recent years, law enforcement agencies are taking different approaches to building relationships with citizens.

One such effort in Cedar Rapids — and other communities in the Corridor, such as Marion and Iowa City — is Coffee with a Cop. Cedar Rapids Police Sgt. Cristy Hamblin, who handles community outreach for the department, is the organizer of Coffee with a Cop.

Q: What is Coffee with a Cop?

A: Coffee with a cop is really a chance for the citizens to sit down with a police officer — it's not the chief of police, it's not any of our higher-ups, it's the beat officer — and really just voice what's on their mind. It could be something as simple as, 'Hey, I've got a car that speeds down my street every day at 3 o'clock,' or 'Have you thought about starting up this program I've heard about in Kalamazoo?' There's no agendas. There's no hidden agendas. It's just an informal conversation.

Q: What's the idea behind the program?

A: We stole the idea from Marion police, who stole the idea from Omaha police, who I think originated the program. The original idea is to get back to the grass roots of our community and take away any barriers between the public and police.

Q: What topics are discussed?

A: It can be anything from, 'Hey, we really like the police department, we love seeing them in my neighborhood,' or it can go to, 'Can you tell me about the shootings in the neighborhoods? Can you tell me why they're happening?'

For me, I'm selling the different programs we have at the police department, like the citizen's police academy.

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: Our first one was at Wilson Avenue Hy-Vee ...

Dec. 18 of 2014.

Q: Do you change locations?

A: Correct. We try to move them to different quadrants of town. We move them to different stores. Mostly right now what we've gone with is Hy-Vee or McDonalds. There's a great group of kids, it's called Venture Crew. They are a Boy Scout group, but they are adults with special needs. We've gone out and had Cocoa with a Cop.

Q: How has turnout been?

A: Probably the very best one we had was last year, last summer. It was in August, I believe. We partnered up with Nelson's Meat Market. We had Going to the Dogs with a K-9. Nelson's Meat Market donated 100 hot dogs, chips and a bottle of water and we had well over 100 people that attended.

Q: Why is Coffee with a Cop important?

A: I think it's just building the relationships with the police department and our community. We're strengthening our relationship.

The next Coffee with a Cop will take place in June, likely at a park or the Johnson Avenue Hy-Vee.