‘Coffee with a Cop’ was launched in Hawthorne, Calif. in 2011 because of a brainstorming session. Members of the Hawthorne Police Department were looking for ways to interact more successfully with the citizens they served each day.
They hit upon a simple plan to break through the barriers that have been built over the years: a cup of coffee.
In less than five years, Coffee with a Cop events have been hosted in all 50 states and are one of the most successful community-oriented policing programs across the country.
The program has expanded to outside the Unites States to Canada, Europe, Australia and Africa and now the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The key to the growing success of Coffee with a Cop is that it opens the door for interactions outside of the crisis situations that typically bring law enforcement officers and community members together.
On Saturday, June 16, VIPD officers will be hosting “Bush Tea with a Cop” from 9-10:30 a.m., at the Deli Deck Restaurant in Havensight, St. Thomas. The community is invited to attend, share a cup of bush tea with an officer and dialogue.
