GONZALES — Community members can now correspond with their local police through Gonzales’ Pen Pal with a Cop program, which rolled out May 7.
“It would be an opportunity for us here at the police department to stay connected with our community in a different way, engage with those who wanted to correspond with us and have something creative to do with our community,” said Gonzales Police Chief Keith Wise.
Wise noted the decision was in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the department’s wish to help residents sheltering in place.
The program is open to all ages, with correspondence through email or mailed letters through the postal service.
The department has already received several requests and assigned them to a pen pal officer to begin correspondence.
“Officers embrace and enjoy the interaction and the ability to connect with the community on a different level,” Wise said. “It’s always nice to meet new folks and be able to stay engaged with everyone, and in doing so, it provides another opportunity to strengthen our law enforcement and community relationships.”
Wise said the communication between police and residents builds community trust and can address quality of life issues in the community.
“All of this makes for a safer, stronger, healthier and more vibrant community for everyone involved,” he said. “This is some of what makes Gonzales such a great place, and it is something that the police department staff, officers and I stay committed in doing and building upon.”
Topics of discussion vary. Wise said community members like to learn about law enforcement as well as the individual officers.
“They write about their hobbies, sports, family, vacations, inspirations, school, careers, pets, etc. It’s kind of been like you or I would be corresponding with a friend of ours,” Wise said. “I noticed in one of the pen pal letters, the officer included a picture of his family dog.”
Other letters have asked about dream vacations for officers, or expressed how they felt that being able to get to know officers made the community a great place to live.
Though the program kicked off in response to the pandemic, Wise said the pen pal correspondence is planned to continue indefinitely, even after the end of shelter-in-place orders.
“I would hope to see continued interest and community participation from here on out,” Wise said.
Individuals interested in being a pen pal with a cop can contact the Gonzales Police Department at go************@ci.us or by calling 831-675-5010.
