Belleville Cops Use Pizza, Slurpees To Reach Out To Local Youth

BELLEVILLE, NJ — It’s about building relationships, one slice at a time.

That’s how the Belleville Police Department describes its new program, “Pizza With A Cop,” which recently celebrated its kickoff at Algieri’s Pizza on Union Avenue.

Modeled after the successful national program, “Coffee With A Cop,” the BPD’s latest community-building effort gives residents – young and old – the chance to interact with local police officers in a friendly, non-confrontational setting.

“This is all about meeting even more residents, building more lines of communication and starting new conversations,” said Sgt. Anthony Abate, who organized last month’s event with the help of Algieri’s, which donated the pizza.

“It’s about getting to know the people who we serve and protect every day – and for them to get to know us, too,” Abate said.

According to Abate, fostering connections with the community has been a mission of the police department under Chief Mark Minichini. And for the officers who attended the town’s first “Pizza With A Cop” event – many of whom stopped in on their day off or during a work break – it was an opportunity that was too good to pass up.

Abate said that during previous “Coffee With a Cop” events in Belleville, residents have often taken the opportunity to speak about traffic concerns or quality-of-life issues they may be observing in the community. Other times, residents seize on the moment to give a simple but heartfelt “thank you” to the police.

“And since this is a different environment, and they’re not speaking with us while we’re out and about and in between calls, they feel more at ease,” Abate said.

OPERATION CHILL

“Pizza With a Cop” isn’t the only food-themed outreach event that Belleville police have rolled out this year.

On Monday, the Belleville Police Community Relations Unit announced the launch of a new program dubbed “Operation Chill.” The program aims to reward local youth who perform “acts of kindness” with a tasty treat – a free Slurpee from the 7-Eleven at 216 Belleville Avenue.

“While our officers are on their daily routine patrols, they will be looking for good deeds and acts of kindness performed by children within our community, at which time they will recognize and acknowledge the act and award the child with a free Slurpee coupon redeemable at 7-11,” Belleville police said.

7-Eleven donated 300 vouchers for the campaign. According to police, some ways to earn a coupon include:

• riding your bicycle with a helmet
• crossing the road at a marked crosswalk
• holding a door open
• doing yard work
• helping a neighbor

“This is a great opportunity for our officers to encourage our children to better themselves and do something nice for others,” police said.

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