Essex café hosting 'coffee with cops' morning
The public can sit and chat with police in an informal setting
An Essex based café is hosting a 'Coffee with Cops' morning today (Saturday 12th March), allowing the public to chat to police in a more informal setting.
Utopia Coffee shop, in Southend, is putting on the event.
They pride themselves on having been part of the community for over 15 years, and regularly host events for the people of Southend, including local artist showcases.
Gerry, Utopia's owner, hopes 'Coffee with Cops' will make the community feel more comfortable approaching police: "It's a bit more relaxed so people find the police a bit more approachable and brings them to the community.
"Sometimes you can't talk to police honestly or informally and this makes it doable...
"We provide such a relaxed setting and it was important to us to bring the police to that."
Gerry acknowledges some people feel uneasy interacting with the police, but hopes this will make it easier: "It bridges a gap.
"Maybe some people are scared of police, but at the end of the day, they're just human people who are there to help you...
"Hopefully by doing this, it beings them down to that sort of level."