City police meeting community over coffee

By Alexandra Noad - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on August 28, 2024.

Community members can get to know the police force in Lethbridge while enjoying a free cup of McDonald’s coffee at a northside Mcdonald’s on Thursday.

Sgt. Ryan Darroch of the Downtown Policing Unit says it is an opportunity to build relationships with community members.

“Our goal is to bring community members and members of the police service together over open conversation,” said Darroch in an interview with the Herald.

Darroch added while community members can ask basic questions such as how to make their homes more secure, this event is not a time for complaints and to direct those to the police station.

“It’s not a time to make complaints if something has happened to you or you’ve been a victim of a theft. Our goal is to not address those at these events, they are more just a conversation about what’s going on and what we can do to be better,” said Darroch.

LPS has started the initiative this year, hosting a couple of events at the downtown Mcdonald’s location. Darroch hopes to continue these events to build stronger ties with the community, especially as the LPS is expected to increase its staffing numbers in the coming year.

“We need to get back to doing more community events like this, I believe, as our staffing numbers are set to increase in the coming year. My goal is to do more of these events and to try and rebuild some stronger ties to the community by doing more of these types of events,” said Darroch.

Darroch added it’s important to be accountable to the public as it’s their job to work for the community.

“As the police, we work for the public. That is our job. They are employers and we need to be here to answer to them, answer questions for them, and be accountable,” said Darroch

This event is free to attend and everyone is welcome. It will be held at the McDonald’s at 444 Mayor Magrath Dr. N from 9 a.m. until around 10 a.m. or until questions are all answered.

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