This year’s National Night Out Against Crime is coming up on August 4. The National Association of Town Watch (NATW) sponsors this event each year. For more than 30 years, National Night Out has been building community awareness, promoting neighborhood camaraderie, and promoting better relations between police and communities.
It’s No Small Deal
Over the years, this event has grown to encompass more than 16,000 communities across the United States and Canada. National Night Out has been praised by high profile people like Vice President Joe Biden, who said that the event offers “…a chance to bring neighborhoods together with the men and women who protect them.”
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said, “The best way to prevent crime is to know your neighbors and your surroundings. National Night Out triumphs over a culture that isolates us from each other and allows us to rediscover our own communities.”
Don’t Get the Wrong Idea…
If you’re thinking that National Night Out sounds like a somber, sobering event attended by lots of frightened people with worry-wrinkles in their brows, you’ve got the wrong idea. Because in truth, National Night Out is more of a celebration of friends, neighbors and communities.
And it’s meant to be fun!
All across the nation, participating neighborhoods will be throwing block parties and parades, hosting cookouts, and enjoying festivals. And yes, there will also be educational opportunities for enhancing crime reduction. Things like safety demonstrations, seminars, exhibits, and the opportunity to visit with emergency responders.
What better way to spotlight a serious issue than in a festive, comforting manner?
Want To Participate?
If you think your community should be participating (and shouldn’t it?) you can visit the NATW website for more information. You can learn more about the National Night Out event, and register for participation. There’s also a map that you can use to find out if your community is already registered.
And remember that this is an annual event. So even if it’s too late to get your community on board for this year, there’s always next year.
We Like to Think We Do Our Part…
At TLC Inc., we think National Night Out is a great idea. As everyone knows, crime has been a growing menace in our nation. It only makes sense to do everything we can to get it under control. And doing so in a manner that’s fun and that builds community camaraderie is a wonderful approach.
We like to think that we do a bit of crime-fighting ourselves every time we install a new landscape lighting system. Landscape lighting has been shown to help reduce crime.
It’s certainly logical.
After all, if you were a bad guy, which would you choose to target: A home that seems isolated and vulnerable in a black pit of darkness? Or a home shimmering in a beautiful oasis of light?
Just like National Night Out, our crime fighting approach is all positive. That’s because landscape lighting makes a home more beautiful and enjoyable for the family that occupies it. Unlike iron bars on windows and throw-locks on doors, landscape lighting enhances both the appearance and ambiance of a home.
And we think that’s a pretty good way to fight crime.