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A new public relations initiative will give Asbury Park residents a chance to meet with local police officers in a neutral environment once a month to talk about whatever is on their minds.

The Asbury Park Police Department [APPD] kicks off their first Coffee With a Cop series Saturday, Feb. 15 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Kula Café, located at 1201 Springwood Ave [shown above].

The concept is as simple as it sounds.

“Police officers and community members meet in an informal, neutral space to discuss community issues, build relationships, and drink coffee,” said Captain Marshawn Love, who announced the initiative during the February meeting of the Asbury Park Community Action Network [AP CAN] on Saturday.

At Kula, Love will be on hand with Police Chief Mark Kinmon [shown at right] and Capt. David Kelso.

There, they will address issues that are important to citizens and point people in the right direction, whether they are concerned with safety, buildings, code enforcement or construction, or anything else, Kinmon said.

“Maybe we can just point you in the right direction,” he said. “Where do I go to get an issue resolved or who can I talk to?”

Although the initiative was announced at the AP CAN meeting, a faith-based grassroots initiative to end violence in Asbury Park, Coffee With a Cop resulted from the APPD’s Police Chaplain program in connection with the city’s Community Development Initiative, according to Kinmon.

Police Chaplain programs create partnerships with faith-based leaders in the city who assist police and provide support in certain areas.

Pastor Lyddale Akins of Triumphant Life Church is the lead pastor in the Asbury Park program. Three total pastors, including Akins, conduct ride-alongs with police patrolmen, interact in certain situations, support officers and are used in the police department’s station house adjustments, Kinmon said.

Station house adjustments are part of a nation-wide early intervention program that targets juveniles who have committed minor offenses and are on the borderline of becoming more heavily involved with crime. Instead of starting a formal juvenile delinquency record, kids are given immediate consequences like community service and other forms of restitution that befit their offenses and deter them from committing further offenses.

The program helps kids get back on the right track, said Kinmon.

Coffee With a Cop is something a lot of police departments are doing across the country, and Akins and Kinmon thought it was a great idea to bring to Asbury Park, he said.

“We are going to continue to do this about once a month, rotating officers and giving the community a chance for a meet and greet,” said Kinmon. “To see who we are and what we are about and getting to know us a little better.”

Kinmon is hopeful the program will help to build more trust between the police department and the community-at-large, he said.

“We can post all the info we can on our website … but there’s nothing like having those open and honest face-to face-conversations,” Kinmon said.

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