Have Coffee With a Cop Wednesday, Oct. 3

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 1, 2018) — Got questions about campus and personal safety?  Here's a good opportunity to get answers at the third annual National Coffee with a Cop Day. Members of the University of Kentucky community are invited to meet with UK Police officers from 8 to 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, at the Starbucks located in the Gatton Student Center.

This marks the first time the University of Kentucky Police Department (UKPD) will participate in this annual event held the first Wednesday in October, however, UKPD is no stranger to engaging with members of the campus community, coffee cup in hand. In June, UKPD celebrated Pride Month by hosting Coffee with an LGBTQ* Cop event to highlight two gay LGBTQ* liaisons, Officer Holly Williams and Officer Andy Eilertson.

“The opportunity for UK Police officers to sit down with our community stakeholders and listen to their concerns is part of our mission of customer service,” said UK Police Chief Joe Monroe. “Community participation in this event would not only build mutual trust but also improve the safety of our community.”

National Coffee with a Cop Day originated from the Hawthorne Police Department in California in 2011. The community-policing event was created in the hope of breaking down barriers between their law enforcement agency and members of their community. The event was so successful in building trust, there have been more than 10,000 Coffee with a Cop events spanning 15 countries.

Coffee with a Cop was named in the final report of the President’s Task Force on the 21st Century Policing as an example of how agencies can proactively promote public trust through creating community-policing events.