Councillors have done it.

Politicians have done it.

The Emergency Services have done it. Now, as reported in the Halifax Courier, the police are doing it too.

What are we talking about?

The police, along with others who serve the community, are using coffee as a way of engaging with the general public.

It has long been recognised that coffee is something of a grand socialiser.

The initial coffee houses in London were dubbed ‘penny universities’ because of the heated debates on topics of the day that took place within them.

Even now, we often use coffee-drinking as a reason for dates, meeting up with friends and family and colleagues, for business meetings and for pleasure.

It is also used as a grand fund-raising opportunity – the ever popular coffee morning, that is.

However, in Halifax, England, the police are making themselves available to members of the community in a low key and friendly environment in a coffee shop.

It is expected that attendees will raise issues that concern them.

Other similar police schemes have also discovered that another benefit of these coffee tete-a-tetes is that the police can learn more about their community, how it works, what the concerns are, as well as the locals gleaning information from the police.