On Saturday 12/14/19 the Swatara Township Police Department participated in the Harrisburg Police Athletic League’s annual Shop with a Cop event.  This event pairs children up with police officers from around the Harrisburg area who assist them with shopping for presents for members of their family.  Each child receives a $100 gift card, courtesy of Walmart, to buy presents for their families.  The officers spend the day with the children to include having breakfast and lunch with them as well as assisting with their shopping experience.  The children who participate in the program are predominately from the Harrisburg Police Athletic League.  Swatara Township Police has teamed up with HPAL and several children from Swatara Township, Paxtang Borough and Steelton Borough participated in the event as well.  The Shop with a Cop event gives children an opportunity to get to know our officers on a more personal level and creates a positive relationship between law enforcement and that child.  In many cases we find that children are scared of the police or are intimidated by them. By spending some one on one time with each child, the child gets to have a positive experience with a police officer with hope that this experience may show them that the police are there to help.  Our officers had a wonderful time with the kids this past weekend and we look forward to the continuation of building positive relationships with our youth in the new year!  A special Thank You goes out to Walmart of Harrisburg for assisting with coordinating this event as well as the donation of $10,000 to help make this event possible.  We would also like to thank Rite Aid for donating food and wrapping supplies for all of the gifts that were purchased.  Lastly, thank you to all of the volunteers who gave up their Saturday to help make this year’s Shop with a Cop event a huge success!