Dec. 04--MIDDLE TOWNSHIP -- Two township police officers sat at a table at McDonald's on Saturday sipping hot coffee and talking with morning regulars John Sherman and John Phillips about recent scrap-metal thefts in the neighborhood.
Police Cpl. Jeff DeVico and Senior Patrolman Richard Sittineri were relaxed but they were not on a break.
This morning coffee klatsch was sponsored by the department as a way to highlight the latter part of "to protect and serve."
In small towns in South Jersey, few law-abiding residents might have a conversation with a police officer during the course of a year except under unhappy circumstances -- a car accident, a traffic stop or to report a crime.
Many departments sponsor "coffee with cops" programs to increase access and availability to residents about quality-of-life issues. Middle Township started one this year so officers could chat with residents in the morning on their way to work.
"I feel a lot better knowing an officer's first name," said Phillips, 74, who lives in the Swainton section of the township just north of Cape May Court House.
DeVico said he and other officers will be meeting informally with residents in different parts of town in the months to come.
This is a rural township spread out across 72 square miles. It serves as the seat of county government, is home to Cape Regional Medical Center and numerous medical offices and is a hub for the biggest retail district in the county.
Most patrol officers are too busy going from call to call to engage in these kinds of conversations, DeVico said. The informal meetings give police a chance to address residents' minor complaints about their neighborhoods, he said.
"It might just be about quads driving down their street or speeding," he said.
Lower Township Police Chief Brian Marker values the program so much he continued to organize these informal meetings with residents after his promotion this year, just as he had as captain for the last four years.
And in Ocean City, police regularly meet with residents over coffee, Capt. Steven Ang said.
"It gives people a chance to put a name and face to the uniform," he said. "They can relate to them if they have a problem down the road."
Ang said in Ocean City even veteran officers learn more about the city and its residents by having these conversations.
"I don't think we've gone to any of these where we didn't find something new about a neighborhood or what was going on. There is always something people want to talk about. It might have been a week ago or a month ago," he said. "Nobody wants to deal with strangers. The idea of this program is to make police not strangers but members of the community."
Contact Michael Miller:
609-463-6712
Copyright 2011 - The Press of Atlantic City, Pleasantville, N.J.
