Hammonton Coffee Shop Is County's First 'Safe Place' Business

HAMMONTON, NJ — Atlantic County wants residents to know it’s a safe, diverse place for all walks of life. And businesses are reflecting that - a Hammonton coffee shop is the first to sign up for the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office new Safe Place initiative.

According to a news release, Safe Place is a law enforcement initiative that promotes safety, provides training, education, and most importantly, supports victims and targets of biased incidents and hate crimes that take place in Atlantic County.

Casciano’s Coffee Shop & Sweetery on Bellevue Avenue in Hammonton, led by Hammonton business owner Linda Cashan, is the first business to officially sign up for the Safe Place initiative, but there have been a few more to follow, the prosecutor’s office said.

“Hammonton is an all-inclusive community that has a variety of individuals from different nations, cultures, and preferences,” said Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel. “Our job is to keep everyone safe and keep our community the best that it can be.”

According to the prosecutor’s office:

The goal of Safe Place is to promote public safety and address bias incidents and/or crimes based upon race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and/or gender identity), ancestry, disability and/or marital status. Bias and hate crimes and incidents are statistically underreported, often due to victim fear and apprehension about their complaint being disregarded. When ACPO’s Safe Place is utilized, individuals looking for assistance will be treated with care, dignity, and respect from participating organizations, and most importantly, from responding police departments. The only responsibility of the individual in the public building or business is to allow them to safely wait there until the police arrive.

“I am proud of Atlantic County for taking this step to bring this program here, and to have a program that makes it abundantly clear that residents and visitors of all walks of life will be supported and protected here in Atlantic County,” said Atlantic County LGBTQ+ Law Enforcement Liaison Detective Caryn Campanelli.

ACPO is going to be reaching out to more communities across Atlantic County regarding Safe Place
including the police departments of all municipalities. Atlantic County residents may see these decals more and more displayed in the windows of Atlantic County businesses and public buildings.

“The Safe Place decal signals to the public that that there is no place for hatred our communities, and that anyone feeling threatened based on who they are is welcome at that establishment,” Prosecutor William Reynolds said.

You can learn more about the Safe Place initiative and register your business at this link.