Sask. RCMP Coffee with a Cop event in North Battleford. (ID 164785795 © Pras Boonwong | Dreamstime.com)

By Alyssa Rudolph

open discussion event

‘Nothing but positivity’: Local RCMP’s first Coffee with a Cop event

Jan 17, 2026 | 8:00 AM

Saskatchewan RCMP officers sat down for a cup of coffee with North Battleford residents on Jan. 15; it was the first local ‘Coffee with a Cop’ event.

Cpl. Steve Bell with the Battlefords Crime Prevention Victim Services Unit, said there was a strong initial turnout, exceeding expectations for a first-time event.

“There was lots of good engagement from the community, posing some pretty good questions to us. It was a great couple of hours of dialogue with people in the public,” he said.

Although unable to provide a specific number of participants, he said over the two-hour event, he never sat quiet and discussed a ‘plethora’ of topics.

“Some of the downtown core issues, some of our issues with the unhoused and addictions, and how can we, as a community or different groups, try to support those people or get them connected with services,” said Bell.

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Rather than facing criticism, officers were met with an overwhelmingly positive and appreciative response from residents.

“I wasn’t sure how it was going to go; if we were going to get some negative comments, but I personally never received any of those. It was all positive and a lot of thanks for what we are doing out there,” he said.

Bell believes it is important for the public to attend events like Coffee with a Cop to understand that the officers are citizens in the community as well.

“We live in this community. We want to see this community be the best that it can be as well. We don’t just come and work here; we live here as well,” he said.

The officer said this event is something he would like to see happen again, whether it occurs quarterly or annually.

“We had a bunch of our partner agencies that were there – groups like Citizens on Patrol, Victim Services, Saskatchewan Marshals, and the city fire department.”

“They had a lot of positive comments about it too. I think it was a good event all around. Everybody enjoyed it and nothing but positivity came out of it,” he said.

Residents are told to watch for updates on when the next RCMP open discussion event will take place.

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Alyssa.rudolph@pattisonmedia.com