L’ANSE — An event for the community to meet and interact with local law enforcement was held on Tuesday at the Nite Owl Cafe in L’Anse. The Coffee with a Cop event was placed together by the Michigan State Police and included representatives from the L’Anse Police Department and the Baraga County Sheriff.

The group of officers had breakfast and coffee while they greeted passing citizens and had discussions about community concerns and insight into the involvement of the police in community matters.

The event provided the opportunity to make the officers accessible in a community and informal space and understand each other as individuals and citizens.

The event is held in each of the counties the Calumet Post state police oversee a couple times a year, being Baraga, Houghton and Keweenaw counties.

This is the first of the three for the year, and the events for Houghton and Keweenaw counties will eventually be announced.

Community Service Trooper Alan Narhi of the MSP Calumet Post said that most citizens that come forward are normally curious about law enforcement or wanting to know more about possible rises in crime in particular areas.

He said that the informal setting provides a positive environment for law enforcement to engage the community and can provide those with negative impressions of law enforcement an opportunity to learn more in an easy-going atmosphere. Narhi has learned much about his community from these types of interactions.

“What I take from these events is how important the fact is that we talk with the community,” he said. “Without the community’s support, it makes our job a lot harder. We need the community to feel welcome, to feel comfortable enough to come to us with issues or feeling willing to call and say, ‘This is what’s going on around my neighborhood,’ and feel confident that the issue is going to be taken cared of.”

Narhi grew up in the Houghton area, and it means much to him to be able to serve his community in this manner. Before he worked for the MSP, he worked for the Houghton Police Department and he had the aspiration to continue to serve his home. With the experience of growing up in the place he patrols, he has knowledge of the local citizens’ values and what unique problems arise in certain locations. Narhi also said it helps investigations when citizens can trust someone who had had similar experiences growing up in an area in which they can both relate to.

Narhi said that another way to keep oneself accessible to the MSP is to download their mobile app, MSP Mobile. Those with the app can follow the Calumet Post specifically to keep up with event announcements, press releases and any other informational releases. One of the most announced incidents the Calumet Post will inform citizens of are local scams that people should be wary of. Narhi said that it could also be beneficial for those who are vacationing in the Copper Country to have access to information on the MSP’s post.

Tuesday’s event also provided the opportunity for the police to share any challenges they are facing and how it affects the community, with manpower being the greatest challenge. The MSP will sometimes face the challenge of having officers able to respond to emergencies or incidents in a timely manner when stretched over three counties. The MSP are always hiring, and the branches of Copper Country services are always looking for new officers.