On Monday, October 12, 2015, the Kean Students Active For Everyone (S.A.F.E.) organization hosted the event Coffee With A Cop. This event allowed students to ask any questions they have to cops while munching on donuts and sipping on coffee.

Kean S.A.F.E. is an organization that allows students to have a large part in public safety. Members of Kean S.A.F.E. are the responsibility to spread the word of public safety and help keep the Kean community safe by reporting any incidents that occur on campus. Think of Kean S.A.F.E. as a bridge for students to report an incident they’ve seen on campus to authorities. Coffee With A Cop allowed students the opportunity to get over any fears that they had about cops and ask anything that related to law enforcement, how to become a cop or even what it is like to be a cop.

Students enjoyed the snacks while asking many questions to the two police officers that were present, both of which are officers from Ocean City Police Department in Maryland.  The students that attended asked questions like “what would you like the community to know about cops today?” and “why do you think that police officers are always perceived to have a donut and coffee in hand?”

The police officers very much enjoyed answering the questions the students had. Officer Neshawn Jubilee comments on how a day-to-day life is for an officer,

“We have 10 hour shifts and begin our shifts with roll call. We then go on the road and cover at least 60 blocks [otherwise known as a sector] and while covering the blocks we get a lot of calls of theft, fights, burglaries, but nothing too major.  Usually around this time of year it is slow because of the weather but during the summer we receive a lot of calls.” 

Usually cops are perceived to always have a donut and a coffee in hand but that is not always the case. Jubilee comments, “I don’t really know why people think that…but we do love coffee because we have to stay awake for long periods of time.”

Officer Neshawn Jubilee chats with a student 
Gaelle Gilles l The Cougar's Byte

A student asked Jubilee why he became a cop, and unlike many people, it isn’t because his father, mother or uncle is or was an officer. Jubilee says it is because “a lot of my friends are in law enforcement. I actually never wanted to become a cop, but my best friend asked me if I wanted to become a cop with him and now I’m loving the job.”

All in all, the event was a success as many students weren’t just there for the donuts but to really get information about how the law enforcement works and what a cop’s day-to-day life is. Many people have the wrong idea of a cop, but as Jubilee says, “in general, people should know that everyone is different and that not every cop is the same. Not every cop abuses their power, so everyone shouldn’t classify all of us in the same category.”