Cape police chief 'very pleased' with outreach efforts

A person might normally consider walking into a room full of cops a bad thing -- unless they're offering free coffee.

Since the Cape Girardeau Police Department began hosting Coffee with Cops last year, each event has come with the same promise: no agendas or speeches, just a chance to ask questions, voice concerns or just say "hi."

The department hosts several of these events a year, at locations across the city. From gas stations to retail stores, the conversation and coffee flow as residents learn a little more about the faces behind the badges.

This year saw the start of another public outreach effort, with some patrolling officers starting their shifts on the street as part of the Neighborhood Roll Call. Officers gather for their evening briefing and take a moment to meet with community members.

"We're very pleased with both programs," police chief Wes Blair said.

Breaking barriers

Tom Doyle, left, has a laugh while visiting with Sgt. Kevin Orr with the Cape Girardeau Police Department during a recent Coffee with Cops event at Bi-State Oil in Cape Girardeau. (Laura Simon)

Coffee with Cops and Neighborhood Roll Call are designed to foster better relationships between officers and the public, and Blair said he believes both are succeeding in that goal.

"I've been very pleasantly surprised with the results of the Neighborhood Roll Call especially," he said. "I expected that we would have small numbers of people come out and they would express concerns about their neighborhood -- and that's what we want -- but what we've seen above and beyond that is people who have come out just to be supportive of their local law enforcement."

Such a gesture is "really encouraging to officers," he added. It's especially promising at a time when so many other communities seem to be at odds with their local police departments.

But as Councilman Wayne Bowen pointed out, the burden of improving communication and communities doesn't lie solely on the shoulders of the officers.

"These [events] are sponsored by the police department, they're outreach by the police department, but the citizens of Cape need to respond as well and come to those events," he said.

So far, Blair said community buy-in has not been a problem for Cape Girardeau. A roll call in his own neighborhood had more than 40 people in attendance.

The conversations that take place during Coffee with Cops or Neighborhood Roll Call are about more than crime. Children's sports leagues and the St. Louis Cardinals are equally likely to be topics of conversation. Even those simple exchanges can carry significant weight, given that so many exchanges between the police and the public have a negative connotation.

"These are completely different interactions. Everyone is in there because they want to be in that location," Bowen said. "They're interested in a conversation and they're not forced to interact because of pain or misery or something terrible is going on. I think it's great for our police officers just to have an opportunity in a planned, predictable way to talk to regular people they aren't arresting or taking reports from or pulling over or just in the worst possible circumstance you can imagine."

Mayor Harry Rediger said he hopes public involvement continues to grow and people begin to feel more comfortable approaching officers with questions or concerns. He repeatedly hears residents express appreciation for the department's willingness to host such events and reach out to people.

"They see their faces and name, that they're real people out there assisting and trying to help with public safety in the city," he said.

Lessons learned

Blair said the events have been an educational experience for all parties involved.

"I think the biggest lesson is probably just the realization on both sides of the fence, between the citizens and the officers, that we really have the same goal: We all want the neighborhoods to be safer," he said. "To see that there's that commonality, I think, is probably the biggest lesson."

These opportunities for interaction help debunk stereotypes about law enforcement indifference and allow officers to see the best of the community, Blair added. It also provides people with a little more perspective, especially when it comes to patrols and responses to calls.

"A lot of times people think, 'It took them forever to get to my house when I called about something,'" he said. "When you think about why did it take so long, just think there may only be somewhere between seven to nine officers on the street and 40,000 citizens to deal with."

A few Cape Girardeau residents have been given the opportunity to step into the shoes of an officer with the Citizens Police Experience held in April. Members of the community played the role of a police officer, responding to different service calls. Blair said those involved were "completely amazed" with the issues officers face on a daily basis and reactions were even better than he expected. The department hopes to host another Citizens Police Experience in late January or early February.

Another opportunity to learn about the daily work of a police officer allows individuals to actually ride along on a patrol. Bowen said he's been on several ride-alongs, which he believes offer even more insight to the daily pressures of police work. With as few as seven officers patrolling the whole city, he said they can be on their own in many ways when they respond to calls.

"Obviously, they're in communication with the rest of patrol, but they really are making these decisions on our own to protect us as solitary officers," Bowen said. "When you think of the courage it takes just to drive off by yourself somewhere for a call and not know who's going to be there, what they're armed with, what their approach to you is going to be -- that day-in and day-out courage is something I think we need to continue to celebrate and be grateful for."

Expanding opportunities

Beyond outreach events like Coffee with Cops or Neighborhood Roll Call, officers also can be found participating in local events promoting causes such as the Special Olympics or breast-cancer awareness. The officers consider Cape Girardeau to be their community, just as the residents do, Blair said. That's why they take opportunities to act as partners in the community and not just "law enforcers," he said.

The chief is satisfied with the way efforts are going now, but said the department is open to new possibilities in the future.

"We like the path that it's going on," Blair said of the public outreach efforts. "There may be some other things that come up and we think 'Hey, that's a great idea, we should try this.' If they work, then that's awesome, we keep doing them, and if they don't work, we regroup and try something else."

A recent Neighborhood Roll Call at Terrace Drive and Alta Vista Drive included members of the Southeast Missouri State University Department of Public Safety. The agency works well with the city's police department, Blair said, so they were happy to host a roll call event with them in a university neighborhood. He said the door is open to other law enforcement agencies, including the Missouri State Highway Patrol or the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Office, to participate as well.

The mayor also hopes to see some new partnerships forged in future roll call events. He said he would like to see more connectivity between the event and the city's Neighborhood Development Initiative so neighborhoods can create more lines of communication with police officers and strengthen efforts to "manage their neighborhoods themselves."

Rediger said his personal hope is events such as Neighborhood Roll Call one day go beyond public safety.

"So if we go into a neighborhood, other departments might get involved, like maybe parks or public works," he said. "They can start to interact more with the public. It can then become more than just a public safety event. It can become more a total city department event."

There are still a few more opportunities available to attend a Neighborhood Roll Call, but remaining events are limited. The outdoor events will wind down this month and return next year after the winter weather has passed.

But Blair said the opportunities for free coffee aren't going anywhere.

"Coffee with Cops will continue through the winter, because that's the best time to drink coffee," he said.

srinehart@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

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Coming events

• Oct. 6: Neighborhood Roll Call at Sunset Boulevard and Merriwether Street
• Oct. 8: National Night Out at Target, 202 Siemers Drive
• Oct. 15: Neighborhood Roll Call at Henderson Avenue and Merriwether Street (final roll call of the year)
• Oct. 20: Coffee with Cops, 7 to 9 a.m. at Cup *'n*' Cork, 11 S. Spanish St.