Champaign Police: Coffee with a Cop and More

I attended last month's Coffee with a Cop event, held quarterly throughout the year by the Champaign Police Department. For those who are unfamiliar with how these events work, it's about as simple as going to the café where they're holding it and then ordering a cup of coffee. 

Photograph from Champaign Police

Their most recent event was held at Martinelli’s Market on the north side of Downtown Champaign. The clerk asked if I was with the event when I ordered my coffee which made it free for me. The City of Champaign's budget mentions this as part of its outreach budget (just see all the search hits for "coffee").

From there, one can approach any of the officers or department officials or simply have a seat with them. They're used to fielding questions and concerns regardless from a variety of perspectives (even critical ones). From WCIA's coverage of the event:

On Tuesday, some Champaign citizens sat down with not only a hot cup of coffee, but someone to talk to. It was the first Coffee With a Cop event of the year for the Champaign Police Department.

Champaign Police orchestrate these social gatherings at least once every quarter. The program is designed for officers and community members to interact and discuss concerns.

“It’s something that humanizes our officers; it builds relationships. A crisis is the wrong time to be handing out business cards, so establishing those relationships upfront is essential to the work that we do,” said Joe Lamberson, CPD’s Public Information Officer.

That full blurb here. For general information on the Champaign program, see their webpage on the City's website here. If you're interested in the next event coming up this summer, you can follow their social media feed on facebook or Twitter. I'd recommend signing up for the City of Champaign's Champaign Insider newsletter myself, but I follow a lot of local events. Either way you'll probably get at least a few weeks heads up on the next event's specific location and other details.

Like many outreach programs, you tend to get what you put into it. If you have serious questions and concerns, you can bring those with you. Folks may not always like the answers, but you might get some insight into other perspectives. If you're interested in seeing out the department uses its outreach resources, you can do that to. If you just want to have a friendly chat and offer your support or well-wishes, officers surely wouldn't mind that either.

Other Champaign Police Updates:

• Today is the last day for public input for the Champaign Police Department's ILEAP accreditation. More from WCIA coverage here. Additional information from the City's website here.
  
  
• Remember there are always police chief updates at the Champaign County Community Coalition every month, including crime and gun violence updates. Previous meetings are archived here.
  
  
• There was a reminder about the major factor that opportunity plays in property crime in this month's Champaign Insider. Remember to Lock It! Hide It! Keep It!
  
  
• Updates on the Champaign-Urbana Rising Star program and collaboration, including the Champaign Police.
  
  
• One of the questions I had answered during the event was on the return of the Citizen Police Academy program. This was a free outreach program offered through the Police Training Institute on campus. It was a popular initiative prior to the pandemic that allowed members of the public to get a detailed look at the local departments and training. Be on the lookout for updates as we approach the fall semester!