‘It’s nice to actually see this side of them’: Montrealers and cops chat over coffee

Montrealers passing through some of the city’s metro stations and fast-food cafes Wednesday may have been surprised to see dozens of police officers waiting for them — but they were possibly more surprised to be greeted with free coffee.

“It’s nice to meet police and the citizens, just to answer any question they have about our profession, or what we do in the everyday job,” said Montreal police spokesperson Julien Lévesque, standing in front of the temporary coffee station set up at Berri-UQAM metro Wednesday morning.

The Montreal police, along with other Quebec police forces, held their annual event, “Café avec un policier,” at 34 spots across Montreal. The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) says the event is meant to improve community outreach by allowing citizens to meet cops in a friendly environment to talk about safety and local concerns, and to mark Police Week.

“We were taking the metro, and then we ran into the police, and they were very welcoming, and they asked me, what was my name? Like, if I would like some coffee and like to talk,” said Paola Galvan, visiting Montreal from Toronto on Wednesday. She was on the way to visit the Botanical Gardens with her family when she stumbled across the event.

“That makes it really nice. It was very weird to find like these coffee stops, with police officers being too friendly, asking about your life, and trying to connect with you,” she continued, standing inside Berri-UQAM with a coffee in hand.

Coffee with a Cop was first launched in the United States in 2011, in Hawthorne, Calif. Two years later, it had spread to 175 U.S. cities in 36 states.

On May 13, 2014, the Quebec version was introduced in Blainville, Mirabel, Saint-Eustache, Deux-Montagnes, and St-Jérôme — with the Sûreté du Québec. Since then, 22 police services in Québec have joined in, including the SPVM.

The event is also a chance to improve dialogue for those who might not feel comfortable speaking to police out on the street or visiting their local police station, as well as to connect with Info-Crime Montréal.

“Citizens are encouraged to share information about criminal activity, while always keeping their identity anonymous and confidential,” said Jean Touchette, president and general director of Info-Crime Montréal. According to him, Info-Crime Montréal has been a partner of the SPVM since 1987.

“If people see something and think it should be reported, they shouldn’t hesitate. They don’t need to judge whether the information is relevant or not — we’ll take care of that. When in doubt, report it, and we’ll handle the rest,” Touchette continued.

“I feel like that makes me feel safe. It makes a big change, because a lot of the times I feel like we see the police department as the enemy, but like as not on our side. So it’s nice to actually see this side of them being like friendly and like very welcoming, and it just warms your heart,” said Galvan.

The SPVM says the initiative also helps officers better understand the needs and expectations of the population.

“We want to just having an informal dialogue with the citizens, with people, to better understand what we do, and if they have some questions on the police issues and everything,” said Lévesque.