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national night out started in 1984 and
its been held anually ever since. its always held
the first Tuesday in August. it was designed to strengthen the partnership
between law enforcement and the community and let the criminal element know
that the neighborhoods are going to fight back and take back the night.
now it's grown into something more than that. first responders in the community attend this event.
so you get an opportunity to meet firefighters, ambulance personnel and law enforcement.
I think people get almost a false sense of security
because they live in an area that's not well populated
like a larger city, Chicago or Detroit.
it's important even in rural areas to participate in an event like this
because number one, you get to know your neighbors, and
number two, you get to meet the first responders during a
time when it's not a crisis. so it is important.
don't be foolish enough to think crime can't happen to you. anybody can be a victim
and you're a better prepared person if you know the first responders when they get there.
if you understand that you can talk with your neighbors and share information.
all of that's a good thing.
we develop a partnership between law enforcement and the communities to strengthen crime fighting.
the reality is we do that all the time now. there is a national night out
and its to bring awareness, but with the technology we have today
we're constantly sharing information with the community and they're giving
information to us, it's a two-way street. I firmly believe that the
more information we can give the community the better law enforcement agency we become.
we become more efficient if we understand what's going on in individual neighborhoods.
in the city of St. cloud,
because it's larger, it's usually done by neighborhoods, like the
south side neighborhood will have one, the Whitney park area will have one.
in Stearns County proper normally the communities will have one.
Melrose will have an event, Sauk Centre will have an event.
i try to personally get out to a few of those,
so maybe i'll show up at the event you're at.
we encourage our staff to stop at the events in the neighborhoods and communities
they are patrolling. it's fun for the kids to get to see the type
of equipment that we carry, and even for the older people to see how
technology has advanced, and the types of equipment we carry in our cars now
versus 20 or 30 years ago.
so i would encourage everybody to attend the event in their community or neighborhood
get out and meet the law enforcement officers, the firefighters and the ambulance personnel
and enjoy the evening.