Lake Zurich police use 'Coffee with a Cop' to meet residents, hear concerns

Often, interaction with a police officer comes during a high-stress situation such as a traffic stop or a disturbance in the neighborhood.

Lake Zurich Police Chief Steve Husak acknowledges the public does not get the opportunity at that time to talk about concerns in their neighborhood or to ask questions about the department.

So the department is offering a more leisurely chance to meet with officers over a cup of coffee.

"We want to let them know we're here to service the community, always there to answer questions and to not be afraid to call the police if they have a question or a concern," Husak said.

"Coffee with a Cop" is part of a national initiative supported by the United States Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. The goal, Husak said, is to encourage police departments to meet with the public at a neutral site.

At the first "Coffee with a Cop" last summer at Culver's, Husak said officers and a detective whose specialty was financial crimes were available to meet the public. The meeting attracted people in a range of ages. Questions included why does the department have certain types of police cars, what does it do for firearms training and why is there an officer stationed in the high school.

"Different people of different ages have different concerns or questions. Someone who is a senior (citizen) may want to know about safety issues, whereas someone who has young kids may want to see police in a positive light and check out a police car," he said.

"Those are all opportunities to show them there is someone inside that dark blue polyester, real people who are funny and tell what they do for their job."

Taking a resident's recommendation to hold the coffee on a weekend for better attendance, the department scheduled its second coffee Nov. 15 at the McDonald's on Quentin Road. The goal, Husak said, is to hold the coffees in locations frequented by people.

Tanya Roth and her husband, Nate, did not expect to see representatives of the department when they visited the McDonald's. But as new residents to Lake Zurich, they enjoyed the chance to meet the officers.

And their children, 5-year-old Mikayla and 2-year-old Noah, loved the chance to sit in the police car and turn on the siren.

"My daughter loved it. She thought it was super fun. They were nice and helpful and said if we have any concerns or questions, they are there to listen," Tanya Roth said. "It was a nice introduction to living in Lake Zurich."

Husak said the department encourages residents to reach out to police.

"Some feel they are burdening to call the police, feeling it's not that important, whether it be a barking dog or a neighbor is parking this way or that way. We want people to call us and let us know because we can address it," he said.

Having served as the Lake Zurich chief for only seven months, Husak said the program helps introduce him to residents and gives him an opportunity to hear what's happening in the village.

"We can't be everywhere all of the time," he said. "It's nice when people tell us, 'I live in this part of the village and these are some issues I see.' If people don't tell us that, it's tough for us to gauge and or address things if we don't know."

While there is no set schedule, Husak said the department plans to hold more coffees in the future. He also encourages residents to seek information through the department website or to attend quarterly meetings held by the citizens police advisory council.

"We want to get the word out that we have great officers that are committed to public safety services," Husak said. "We want to showcase that, to tell people who we are, what we're doing, answer their questions and help people in any way we can."