Coffee with a Cop in Santa Barbara, California

Voiceover

00:00

This is The Beat—a podcast series that keeps you in the know about the latest community policing topics 

facing our nation.

Kimberly Brummett

00:08

This is Kimberly Brummett with the U.S. Department of Justice, COPS Office. With us today is Officer Kasi 

Beutel with the Santa Barbara Police Department. Officer Beutel is here to discuss Coffee with a Cop, 

particularly with officer and community relationship building. Good afternoon.

Officer Kasi Beutel

00:24

Good afternoon.

Brummett

00:26

Can you tell us a little bit about what Coffee with a Cop is, and share some of the logistics involved in 

creating a Coffee with a Cop program?

Beutel

00:34

Coffee with a Cop is a concept of an informal interaction between the police and the public. In the past 

16 months, we have held approximately 12 Coffee with a Cop events at local coffee shops in the area 

and around the city. The venue is less important than the details that the event be an agenda-free 

event, without time limits, that allows the public to come and speak with the police in a nonthreatening 

and relaxed setting. The logistics involved in creating this type of program are very minimal compared to 

the benefits the program has.

Developing a relationship with local venues to host the events, releasing the details of the event via 

media and social networking sites, and also promoting the event within the agency to ensure sufficient 

officer involvement as well.

Brummett

01:17

Great. How does the Coffee with a Cop program help build trust within the community?
Beutel

01:54

The Coffee with a Cop program helps build trust within the community by giving our citizens an 

opportunity to see and interact with officers in a casual and relaxed setting. The typical or average 

person may only encounter the police a few times in their lifetime, in an official capacity during a minor 

enforcement stop or as a result of calling 911. The factors that shape many persons perception of law 

enforcement often comes from these few interactions as well as the media, television, or movies.

Coffee with a Cop events builds trust between citizens and police two ways: It helps humanize the police 

to many citizens that have limited understanding of the difficulties police face in their jobs, and it helps 

officers to have interaction with the public in a relaxed setting.

Often these officers’ contacts are limited to either victims or suspects of crime, with limited 

opportunities to communicate with the public in a relaxed and casual manner.

Brummett 

02:14

What changes have you seen in your police and citizen’s relationship from implementing the Coffee with 

a Cop program?

Beutel

02:20

We implemented our Coffee with a Cop program in September 2012. The change in trust between the 

citizens of our communities and our police are threefold. The citizens look forward to the event and 

have a regular monthly or bimonthly event where they can speak to and interact with the police, the 

merchants look forward to partnering with us for these events—it helps bring the community in the 

door, and helps our local economy—and lastly, from an officer’s standpoint, it serves as a reminder of 

the importance of community policing and brings the COPS philosophy to the forefront.

It is not uncommon for me to be contacted by both citizens and police asking when our next event will 

be held, and if we would hold them at certain locations. We have a regular following of people who 

come to our events as well as people who come with concerns or complaints, or just to thank us for the 

jobs that we do. It’s a very interesting dynamic to have a venue in a very relaxed setting where people 

can come and speak with us, and sit down and talk about their lives, or ask us about ours in a very 

informal relaxed setting.

Brummett

03:19

What are some helpful tips for others who want to start Coffee with a Cop program in their jurisdiction?
Beutel

03:25

In the past year, we’ve assisted teaching the Coffee with a Cop program in a class to over 15 different 

agencies, and assisted some of our neighboring jurisdictions in starting their own program. For agencies 

starting this type of program, it’s important to choose a relaxed setting that has plenty of parking and 

plenty of room inside. The officers that are at the event itself need to remember that citizens are often 

intimidated by police in uniforms, and we need to be the greeter or the person who initiates the 

conversation. If there are groups of officers at the venue, then the officers need to be careful to 

circulate with the citizens, and speak with them, and not bunch up with the other officers.

I find it quite helpful to have materials on hand for people to look at, such as neighborhood watch 

brochures, child ID safety kits, department newsletters, and a sign-in sheet with space where they can 

put their email so I can communicate when the next events are with them. And lastly, the media 

releases notifying the public of the event—is important as well as posting flyers prior to the event.

Brummett

04:24

Great, great. Well, thank you so much for your help. Thank you, Officer Beutel, and have a great day.

Voiceover: The Beat Exit

04:31

The Beat was brought to you by the United States Department of Justice, COPS Office. The COPS Office 

helps to keep our nation’s communities safe by giving grants to law enforcement agencies, developing 

community policing publications, developing partnerships, and solving problems.

Voiceover: Disclaimer

04:47

The opinions contained herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official 

position or polices of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, 

products, or services should not be considered an endorsement by the authors or the U.S. Department 

of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement discussion of the issues.