One night, around a decade ago, Debbie Thill heard bustling out on her front porch.

When she peeked out the window, a man was fiddling with her furniture. He then opened her storm door and attempted to force his way into her home. She battled to keep the locked front door closed and phoned 911.

Four Crown Point Police Department squad cars were at her home within a minute or two. They caught the man before he ever made it into her house.

She threw the officers a pizza party for their efforts, complete with soda and snacks. It was the first of Thill's many, many trips down the road to the station with treats for the officers.

Thill is one of a handful of Crown Point residents and businesses who show their appreciation for the work of their officers by bringing meals, snacks and treats to the police station.

Resident Irene Gatz recently brought officers mini ice cream cones, K-9 treats, candy and American flag pins. Crumbl Cookie, Chipotle, Rosati's, Dollar Tree, Gelsosomo’s, Mission BBQ, Parlor Doughnuts and Texas Roadhouse locations in Crown Point have also delivered food to officers over the last few months.

Thill estimates that she visits a few times a month, once every other week or so, to bring assorted treats.

Thill's late husband was a federal prosecutor and she spent decades working closely with the law in Schererville. She has lived in her home down the street from the Crown Point Police Department since the early 2000s.

"Our community is so safe, and I don't know if people realize it," Thill told The Times over the phone on Friday, just before she was headed down the street to deliver her latest round of goodies: Bubblegum and assorted candies for the officers and pig's ears for their K9 colleagues.

"I would like to see more people show their appreciation for our police department," Thill said. "People sometimes take our officers for granted. They have a really hard job."

Officers feel strong support through community contributions

"This community is wonderful when it comes to supporting our officers," Gligic said.

Gligic said residents may overlook the fact that on very busy nights, officers are "running from call to call" and might never get the chance to sit down and grab a meal across their entire 12-hour shift.

They might just be relying on whatever they can grab from the station at that time, like the donations from Thill, Gatz or local businesses.

"Any donation is always appreciated," Gligic said. "It makes our officers feel like the community really supports them."

Firefighter, paramedic sees little gestures as important displays of appreciation

Scott Wilson brought his two youngest sons, Caden, 13, and Joshua, 12, to the Crown Point Police Department with popsicles on a particularly hot day in mid-July. The Facebook post, with the sons posed between an officer, garnered a lot of social media attention.

Wilson is a firefighter and paramedic himself in Northbrook, Illinois, and has lived in Crown Point with his family for eight years.

"We've been doing it since they were little, just kind of dropping off some popsicles or fruit or donuts or whatever, depending on what kind of day it is," Wilson said. "(It's) just to kind of show how much we appreciate what those guys and gals do for us."

Wilson said people may not realize that many of these small gestures happen naturally, without broader recognition. Someone might simply be on the way to the library and feel the urge to drop something off, he said.

No matter what community, Wilson said he knows police and firefighters love even the small gestures.

"It's kind of nice just to say, 'Hey, we appreciate you. Here's a little something,'" Wilson said. "And it's just a nice gesture to show that we care about them and that what they do is not being overlooked."

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