PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — People from communities all over the nation will gather Tuesday night for the crime watch event known as National Night Out.
Since 1984, the first Tuesday in August has been the date of National Night Out. It started as a way for neighbors to show unity against crime by sitting outside with their porch lights on.
"When we started … we were using CB radios,” said Matt Peskin, executive director of the National Association of Town Watch, which launched National Night Out.
And since then, Perkins said the event has grown to include community-building events in 17,000 towns across the nation.
"We started to promote the block parties and the cookouts and the parades and the festivals and all of the things that you see now just to get people interacting with one another," he explained.
Peskin said the association now teaches people not only how to spot suspicious activity, but how to effectively report the information to authorities.
"We found that there are so many people that are intimidated by 911 that they almost don't call a lot of the times."
Peskin measures the success of National Night Out by positive feedback from police and the increasing number of participating towns.
The program also recently added a dog walker program, and you don’t even need a dog to participate. It’s intended to help out neighbors who may be a bit preoccupied while dog-walking to better assist local law enforcement and create a more observant and safe community.
"Once you train [the dogs] to be sensitive to suspicious activity, look at how big the eyes and ears have expanded," Peskin said.
The events are designed to do a number of things, including heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, and send a message to criminals that neighbors are organized and fighting back.
In Gloucester Township, New Jersey, for example, residents are being asked to turn on porch lights and spend some time outdoors, talking with neighbors and police as part of a community-building campaign.
In Wynnewood, Lower Merion Township — where National Night Out was launched four decades ago — a festival will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Wynnewood Shopping Center. Participants are being asked to bring a bag of nonperishable food to support ElderNet’s food pantry.
In Upper Darby, neighbors are being invited to roll with the cops at the 69th Street Recreation Area from 6 to 8 p.m.; bring your bikes, scooters and skates.
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