By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph Police are getting out and interacting with the community.
It's all part of community engagement, something Police Chief Paul Luster has strived to improve since he arrived in St. Joseph.
One of those efforts is Coffee with the Chief. Luster says the event is an opportunity for people to air their concerns or simply just say hello
"It's always nice to have the community members stop by and share any concerns you have or if you need some resources in your neighborhood or for your business come talk to us," Luster tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr. "Or even if it's just to say hello and introduce yourself we're happy to have you, part of our ongoing community engagement efforts here at the St. Joseph Police Department."
Luster had Coffee with the Chief this morning at Cup of Joe on North Village Drive. He hopes to hold the event four times during the year.
Luster says he believes the best relationships with the community are built outside of official police interactions.
"What I call non law enforcement contacts, so non-enforcement-based contacts, just where we can talk where it's not me necessarily or a department member necessarily doing their job as a police officer in the terms of, we weren't called to a location to handle something," Luster explains.
While community engagement is not new, it has been a strong emphasis for Luster.
A community engagement that has been around for several years, is the Joint Law Enforcement Citizens Academy, offering people a chance to learn about law enforcement and what they do.
Luster says people have that option outside of the law academy as well, the St. Joseph Police offering to take people on a ride along.
"Kind of see firsthand what they see on a daily basis, so another good way to build those relationships because that community engagement is so important in what we do," Luster says.
You can apply for a ride along experience by clicking HERE.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.