Police chief hears from community members over coffee

By Jenna Wilson

St. Joseph Police Chief Paul Luster and other members of the police department gathered with community members on Thursday, offering open conversation and a chance for residents to express concerns.

The open forum held at Hazel’s Downtown coffee shop marked the second “Coffee with the Chief” event held this year, alongside other fellow officers.

“Our intention is to do one a quarter, so four times a year and we’ve been trying to move to different parts of the community,” Luster said. “We want to get as many community members as possible in their area of town to come out and visit with us in a non-enforcement-based environment where we can have a casual conversation, learn about each other and learn what their concerns are.”

Residents voiced many concerns, including quality of life issues they are facing in local neighborhoods such as the homeless population and speeding motorists, Luster said.

By hosting events like this, law enforcement is hopeful they will build better trust between officers and citizens, as well as give them stronger insight into overlooked problems that need to be addressed in St. Joseph.

“When you can sit down and have these conversations with the community about what’s truly bothering them, it gives us a new perspective also,” Luster said. “Something that may not seem serious to the police department can be a very big concern to citizens and their neighbors, so that’s something we need to listen to and try to work together and solve if we can.”

Outside of one-on-one conversations with the chief, community members are encouraged to attend community engagement events as often as they can. The police department, along with the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, is looking forward to more conversation at the 2024 Joint Citizen Academy starting on April 2.

“It’s a really good opportunity for our community to come and learn about what law enforcement is doing in the community,” Luster said. “Trust is the cornerstone of almost any relationship and that’s no different with police-community relationships. It’s an opportunity for eight continuous weeks on Tuesday evenings where the community can come and learn what their police department and sheriff’s department is really doing because when that trust is there, people are more likely to report crime and more likely to come forward as a witness of a crime.”