'Right up our alley': Bowl with a Cop connects area law enforcement with the communities they serve - The Dickinson Press

DICKINSON — One of the most critical components of effective law enforcement is establishing and maintaining public trust, a subject that has been the top priority for the Stark and Dunn County Sheriff’s Offices since 2019.

On Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., area children, adolescents and families gathered at the Paragon Bowl Champs Sports Club in Dickinson to take out some pins, eat pizza and engage with area law enforcement during the annual Bowl with a Cop event.

The 2022 iteration of the event, hosted by the Stark County Association of Deputies, included participating law enforcement and judicial agencies representing Stark and Dunn County’s Sheriff’s Offices, the Stark County State’s Attorney Office and members of the Dickinson Police Department.

Law enforcement members from multiple agencies engaged with community members in the longstanding non-enforcement event — an event that Stark County Sheriff Corey Lee believes connects area departments with the people they serve for the betterment of the community.

“Anytime we can have interactions with children it’s great. What I think we are missing out on a lot in this world are those opportunities for officers to have sustained interactions with children and their community,” Lee said. “I think the event today was a great turn-out, and the I'm hearing from the bowling alley that they believe that three times as many kids as usual are here this year. Everyone seemed happy with the event and we’re happy with that, all in all it’s been a success.”

To accomplish the kind of community engagement he wants, Lee said it was vital to empower his department to think outside of the box and consider the communities they serve and the opportunities presented to, "connect with children."

“Our deputies play a critical role in identifying and addressing the needs of our communities. Too often, law enforcement falls into statistic-driven policing and relies on the number of arrests made, tickets issued and calls for service handled as a gauge of how effectively we are doing the job. Though these statistics highlight our efforts in maintaining law and order, and are great sources of data for us, they only reveal part of the picture when it comes to effective policing,” Lee said. “What we want to do is continue to strive for more than just statistics, but to maintain and build on our community’s satisfaction and trust in the Stark County Sheriff’s Office and law enforcement in general. Events like this one today highlights those efforts and is something that the children love. It's right up our alley.”

As steady streams of children entered the bowling alley, each received a six-pointed star courtesy of the Stark County and Dunn County Sheriff’s Offices and were honorarily deputized to police their respective lanes. Amid laughter, black lights and music, deputies mingled with children, setting aside their black boots for a pair of bowling shoes.

“Not only is this a great community relations event, but it allows us to find the kid in us and bring it out again. Opportunities like this are great for our deputies to engage and decompress,” Lee said. “Our mission to keep connected is an ongoing one, we have to keep growing the successes of events like today. Our next event will be the Easter Egg Hunt on April 9 in Belfield at 11 a.m. and again in South Heart at 12:30 p.m. Then we’ll have one in Richardton at 2 p.m. on April 10, before we finish with the one in Dickinson on Saturday, April 16, at the Prairie Hills Mall. We invite everyone to join us.”

While the true success of the event cannot be measured for some time, the turn-out and smiles on the faces of all in attendance spoke volumes of the immediate impact of the event.

Dickinson resident Sabrina Zaunbrecher said events like Bowl with a Cop helped the community bond with their area law enforcement officers, noting that both of her children thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity.

Another attendee, Rudie Swanson said she appreciated the sheriff office’s continued efforts in community events and that her children had “a blast.”

For Dunn County Sheriff Gary Kuhn, the event was an opportunity to dispense with the day-to-day for a brief moment and engage with the community — even donning bowling shoes and taking to the lane for a couple of strikes amid the cheers of many of the children.

“The turn out was phenomenal and I was amazed at how many people showed up for the event. We were asked to help out with the event and I was told there would be 34 kids coming, but that number was far exceeded by the end of the day,” Kuh said. “It was fun bowling with all of the kids and everyone had a great time. I think it speaks volumes for how the community and law enforcement work together in our area. The support from the area businesses and the parents is a great testimony of the relationships between the communities and law enforcement.”

Addressing the importance of non-enforcement community relations events, Kuhn addressed what he sees as a growing disparity between some agencies in other states and the communities they serve, noting that he was pleased that such divisions are not common in North Dakota — highlighting how the opposite is true in Dunn County.

“I believe in community policing and know that if you are truly going to be effective in law enforcement, you need the help, trust and support of your community. I believe our kids are the most important asset we have and the sooner we become part of their lives the better the relationship will be when it comes to law enforcement,” Kuhn said. “The last thing we want is to be feared by the children we are sworn to protect. Public trust is earned and some of it has been lost over the past few years. We don’t see it here so much in ND, but some states are really struggling to regain the support and trust of their communities.”

Kuhn highlighted continued efforts of his department in seeking out opportunities to engage with children, noting that his department’s mission of serving and protecting relies heavily on the bridges built through community relationships.

“I really want to thank everyone for their support and it means the world to know your community is behind you and trusts you,” he said. “We are always open to new ways to improve relations and when it involves our children, I am all for it.”

source: https://www.thedickinsonpress.com/community/right-up-our-alley-bowl-with-a-cop-connects-area-law-enforcement-with-the-communities-they-serve

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