I love reading this kind of story at Christmastime. I especially love when newspapers actually choose to focus on the public service that police officers do for their community, instead of only focusing on the arrests they make, and the negative situations they’re forced to deal with.

More than a dozen police officers played Kris Kringle as they roamed the floors of the Belleville Wal-Mart Saturday.

“This is the safest place to be today,” joked Belleville Police Officer Geoff Wells.

He organized the Shop with a Cop event, which paired 14 Belleville officers as personal shoppers with 25 needy school children from the city.

Through a grant from Wal-Mart, cops helped the children pick out $100 worth of clothes and $100 worth of toys.

“A lot of the kids go for big ticket items,” Wells explained. “Some get a lot of little things.”

But for all of the children, who were selected by school social workers, the day aims to bring a bit more enjoyment to their holiday season.

via Belleville cops shop with needy children – .Breaking news – bnd.com.