Salem Police Department Presents Cookies & Cops Next Week

SALEM, NH —The Salem Police Department has announced the first-ever Cookies & Cops, which will give citizens and police officers a chance to chat while eating delicious treats.

The event is scheduled for 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 27 at Crumbl Cookies, located at 55 Central St. Unit D in Tuscan Village.

Cookies & Cops is the brainchild of Officer Brian Lawrence, the SPD's community affairs officer, who previously has organized other similar events designed to foster interaction between citizens and officers, including: Coffee with a Cop, Pizza with Police and Cone with a Cop.

The department's Walk With Us Wednesdays — which involves SPD's Elder Affairs Officer Scott Naismith and other SPD officers walking with seniors — also has proven quite popular.

According to the SPD's Lieutenant Bob Genest, the Cookies & Cops event likely will feature three or four officers on hand to interact with visitors. He said patrol officers also may stop by while on duty —if they are not too busy. Rhea, the department's comfort dog, also is scheduled to attend.

"(These types of events) attract customers for the business and give (officers) an opportunity to shake hands and take photos with kids," Genest said. "There is usually a lot of back and forth, question and answer about issues in the town, and it's just a nice way to break the ice with the community and the citizens."

Genest said the different events with officers have been designed to bring in different age groups. The Coffee with a Cop was held during the day and attracted seniors, while Cone with a Cop brought in parents with young kids.

Like the Pizza with Police event, which was done outside of the police station, Genest said he hopes Cookies & Cops will attract whole families.

"A lot of times people never communicate with police for any reason," Genest said. "But (citizens) like to ask questions about our uniforms and the tools we use and basic things going on around town. It's nice to see the same people come back (to multiple events). It opens up that line of communications that we don't (normally) get."