Coffee with a cop

Potential police officers converse with cops over coffee. 

St. Clair College brought police officers in from around Ontario for Coffee with a Cop on Feb. 25, 2020. 

Nada Saad, a second year protection, security and investigations student at St. Clair College utilized this time to network and potentially help her future career. 

“Everybody should come here if they’re interested in policing or law enforcement,” said Saad. “When I first came here, I knew most of them from going to a previous job fair, and they can answer so many questions… and if they get to know you, they can be a reference or a connection for another job.” 

According to coffeewithacop.com, the event started almost a decade ago in Hawthorne, California as a way to connect a community with the officers who serve them. 

 “Coffee with a cop is really important for our students to interact, network and mingle with active police officers in our community,” said Ed Marocko, professor of police foundations and protection, security and investigations. “It’s a good way to break down some barriers and have a non-confrontational conversation about hiring processes and community issues.” 

Officers, including senior Cst. Surjeet Gill, were met with opportunities to answer questions and concerns from St. Clair students. 

“We have different police partners here from Essex County, RCMP from London, LaSalle, OPP and Chatham-Kent and right now, all the police officers across Ontario are actively looking to recruit officers,” said Gill. “We’re specifically looking to recruit people with diverse ethnic backgrounds so with the international students here. It’s the perfect opportunity for all the law enforcement agencies to come here and mingle with students and answer their questions.”