GREENVILLE – The Greenville Police Department, under the direction of Chief Ryan Benge, held its second annual Coffee with the Cops at A&B Coffee on Broadway this past Saturday morning.
“Our purpose is to build the bridge with the community,” said Chief Benge. “People have the opportunity to come talk to us in a relaxed setting and it helps us build a report with the youth. Last year, when we did this, we had tons of kids. Kids were coming in dressed as cops, so this year we wanted to build off that. We want to understand what the community is experiencing and address the gap we have. We think this is a good step with the community, just being out here and hearing what they have to say.”
“Last weekend went very well at A&B Coffee with Coffee with the Cops,” said Greenville Mayor Jeff Whitaker. “Our command staff made it a mission to do a lot more community outreach and establish relationships between our police officers and the community.”
“We had a wonderful time at Coffee with the Cops,” Greenville City Councilman Chris Norris stated. “We applaud Chief Benge and his staff for the community outreach. He said when he had taken over as Chief of Police in July of last year that he wanted to do some outreach programs and get out into the community and talk to not only the youth but also to the adults and get some interaction going, get communication going between the police department and the community.”
The Greenville Police Department has School Resource Officers in the K-8 building as well as the high school.
“Officer Ryan Borowske, our School Resource Officer, serves in the K-8 building,” Benge noted. “He has such a good relationship with the students. The kids are always talking to him. Every time I go out there, there is a student in his office just talking. I love that because that’s a bridge to the gap. We’re building rapport with them before they reach high school, and he does a great job. That is what we want to do as a department: give people an opportunity to be with us in that relaxed setting and chat.”
Always popular at the Coffee with the Cops, along with other police department functions throughout the community during the year, is Atz, the K-9 department’s German Wirehaired Pointer, and his handler, Officer Aaron Hall.
“The kids love the canine more than us,” Benge chuckled, “that’s obvious.”
“Atz is awesome, and we are excited to be adding a second canine later this year,” continued Chief Benge. “Atz is fun for the kids, and it is a great public relations tool, but even more so, he’s a huge resource for us to get drugs off the streets. Atz is very well trained, and the next canine will be the same way. We love the fun light things, but at the end of the day, their job is to get drugs off the streets, and they are doing an excellent job of it.”
GPD Officers are seen at many Greenville Senior High School sporting events, including four officers at each home varsity football game.
“The relationships that we have with the schools have been excellent,” Benge noted. “When Julie Jones (new Greenville City Schools Superintendent) came in, we had a conversation about how this looks moving forward. Those officers at the games have a primary objective: to secure the facility. However, their main goal is to interact with people, allowing them to understand what’s happening. The SROs (School Resource Officers) have been working the football games. Those officers know the kids better than anyone else. I am happy with the relationship we have with Julie Jones and the entire school administration.”
Staffing is often an issue with law enforcement agencies, not only locally but around the state and across the nation.
“Right now we have 25 officers,” Chief Benge shared. “We are allotted 26, so we have one opening. We are currently testing, and there is an open window right now for people to apply. It’s going to end early in October, and we are hoping to fill that spot.”
“Our Police Department is doing a great job and we appreciate it in the community,” Mayor Whitaker said. “They are going to be hiring another new police officer. They are accepting applications until October 2nd, and then they will conduct the testing on October 5th. They are looking at possibly two retirements next year, so they want to have a list of qualified applicants for those positions. The Police Department is coming along very nicely, with a good young staff and a good young command staff. We are excited about it.”
Anyone interested in learning more about becoming a Greenville Police Officer may go online to apply at Greenville.org or contact Chief Benge or Lt Boyer.
“Anyone who has questions can contact Lt. Boyer or me, and we can talk you through it,” Chief Benge said. “Call us and we can have a conversation.”
“We appreciate the police department and what they do for improving the interactions with the public and opening up communications,” Councilman Norris concluded.
