SANTA FE SPRINGS >> Whittier police Monday talked to Sante Fe Springs residents and answered questions in an effort to better engage with the community.
Police met at Cherri’s Donuts where they shared coffee, doughnuts and policing strategies with interested community members.
About 50 residents participated over a two-hour period for the city’s second Coffee With A Cop event this year, where they were asked about policing the city, as well as talked to residents on a personal level.
“This is a great idea,” said Janie Aguirre, 74, who has lived in Santa Fe Springs for 47 years. “I always see (the officers) around the city, and I appreciate it.”
For 20 years, the Whittier Police Department has contracted with the city to police about 16,000 residents and its businesses.
Two of those first officers who patrolled this city included Whittier police Chief Jeff Piper and Capt. Aviv Bar, who heads the Santa Fe Springs policing team.
“We have 36 personnel assigned to Santa Fe Springs, who have developed relationships with the people living and working in this community,” Piper explained.
“Coffee with A Cop was launched in Hawthorne, California in 2011, as a result of a brainstorming session. Members of the Hawthorne Police Department were looking for ways to interact more successfully with the citizens they served each day,” according to coffeewithacop.com.
“We have to be accessible and accountable to the people in this community,” Bar said