IF there is criminal activity where you live, the Canobolas Local Area Command (LAC) want to know about it.
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Gone are the days where you could move to a country town like Orange and get away from the crime and drugs normally associated with big cities like Sydney or Melbourne.
Break ins and assaults are now common place and you’d be hard pressed to find someone that hasn’t been affected by or known someone affected by drugs.
In an attempt to gather more information about what’s going on in Orange, Canobolas LAC Superintendent Shane Cribb plans on sitting down with residents over coffee and hear what’s really going on.
Coffee with a Cop is a community engagement program designed for residents who may have questions, concerns or tip offs relating to policing issues.
Community engagement officer Inspector Linda Bradbury said the initiative is a great way for Canobolas LAC police to get to know people in the community and what issues may be bubbling under the surface.
“You can stop and talk to us - we want to get to know people and vice-versa,” she said.
“Our strategic planning comes from reactive events but if there’s something that the community knows about that hasn’t happened yet, we want to know about it,” she said.
“That way we can plan for it and it is not simply a reactive event.”
The Coffee with a Cop idea stemmed from the United States Department of Justice which came up with the idea of engagement with communities.
In Australia, the initiative was first undertaken by Fairfield LAC who received positive feedback from officers who said members of the public felt more comfortable reporting issues following the initiative.
Orange police will hold Coffee with a Cop in the Garden Room at Scrumptious on Summer, 142-146 Summer Street between 10am and 11am on Thursday, May 5 and at Gloria Jeans Coffee in Summer Street on Thursday, May 19, between 10am and 11am.
bryson.ferreira@fairfaxmedia.com.au