West Hawai‘i Police Host Six Coffee With a Cop Events

The Hawai‘i Police Department is staging six Coffee With a Cop events across West Hawai‘i this month, offering multiple chances for residents to meet district and Community Policing Officers in an informal setting. The series began Jan. 15 at Kona Heaven Coffee in the Coconut Grove Shopping Center, 75-5805 Ali‘i Drive, Kailua-Kona, and continues through Jan. 23 with stops from Waikōloa to Kealakekua.

Today’s event runs 8 to 10 a.m. Jan. 16 at Kona Mountain Coffee Co., 73-4038 Hulikoa Drive, Kailua-Kona. Future sessions include 8 to 10 a.m. Jan. 21 at Uncle Kimo’s Coffee Shop next to Hōlualoa Garden & Kitchen Restaurant, 76-5897 Kona Belt Road, Hōlualoa; 8 to 10 a.m. Jan. 22 at Caffé Florian, 81-6637 Māmalahoa Highway, Kealakekua; a 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Jan. 22 stop at Kohala Coffee Company, 68-1820 Waikōloa Road, Waikōloa; and 8 to 10 a.m. Jan. 23 at Kona Coffee & Tea in the Kona Coast Shopping Center, 74-5588 Palani Road, Kailua-Kona. Organizers say the gatherings are intentionally informal and have no set agenda, encouraging conversation that ranges from personal stories to neighborhood issues.

For residents, the events are a low-barrier way to raise local concerns directly with the officers assigned to their neighborhoods. Community policing interactions like these can improve two-way communication, unclog simple reporting channels, and surface hyperlocal priorities that data alone may not reveal. By meeting officers face to face, residents can convey conditions on sidewalks, lighting, traffic patterns, or other quality-of-life matters that influence enforcement and resource allocation.

There are modest market implications for participating businesses and the broader morning economy. Coffee shops along Ali‘i Drive, Palani Road, Māmalahoa Highway, Kona Belt Road, and Waikōloa Road can expect incremental morning foot traffic and visibility during event hours, a welcome boost for independent operators in a period when per-visit margins matter. More broadly, frequent community interactions can reduce the transactional distance between law enforcement and small businesses, making it easier to coordinate on issues such as parking, safety, and local ordinances.

From a policy perspective, the Coffee With a Cop series fits within long-standing community policing strategies that prioritize relationship building over enforcement-first tactics. While single events do not substitute for structural changes in staffing or budgeting, regular informal contact helps police gather localized intelligence and can inform district-level decisions on patrol patterns, community outreach priorities, and partnership programs.

If you plan to attend, stop by during the posted times to introduce yourself, ask questions, or raise neighborhood concerns in a relaxed setting. These sessions are a practical next step in keeping local lines of communication open and may shape how district officers respond to West Hawai‘i’s day-to-day public safety needs.