While kids are out roaming the city collecting imaginary monsters in Pokemon Go, the Great Bend Police Department is hoping they will be interested in collection something else.

The Kansas City Royals baseball team has partnered with Topps Baseball Cards in the “Cops are Topps” baseball card program, Police Chief Cliff Couch said.  Great Bend has received 300 plastic-wrapped packets of baseball cards for police officers to hand out to local youth. These will feature Royals players as well as players from other major league squads. 

The first cards are being handed out by Great Bend Police Officers to participants in our City Youth Academy.   

“In this, we continue to support our police officers,” City Administrator Howard Partington said. This is crucial at a time of racial tensions and shootings.

“This is to encourage positive interaction between our officers and our youth,” Partington said. 

This follows on the heels of the GBPD’s hugely successful officer trading card program. These included photoes of each of the officers along with a little information about them.

The idea was to give them to kids, but as it turned out, kids would flag down patrol cars and ask for the officer’s card. There were posters with all the pictures and prizes for collecting all of cards.

Again, the purpose was to foster good community relations.