Celebrate National Night Out in Your Community

National Night Out, or America’s Night Out Against Crime, takes place tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. Snellville and Lilburn will celebrate the event with a festival, activities for children, and a chance to meet local and county police officers, while other areas, like unincorporated Stone Mountain and Tucker, will host individual events in various neighborhoods.

The national event was introduced in 1984 by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW), a nonprofit crime prevention organization that works with thousands of crime watch groups and law enforcement agencies. Last year, more than 37 million people participated, representing over 15,000 communities across the U.S. 

Neighborhood and Community Festivities
Unincorporated Stone Mountain, Pine Lake, Clarkston and Tucker have block parties and neighborhood-wide festivities to celebrate National Night Out instead of one large city one. City and County officers will make an appearance and meet with citizens and neighborhood watches to discuss ways to make their communities safer. 

PRISM of Stone Mountain is also active in promoting and organizing area events.  

"National Night Out lets criminals know we are organized and together to keep ourselves safe," said PRISM representative Jan Dunaway.

They work closely with the Tucker Precinct and help spread the word about National Night Out events in the area.  

Coming Together in Snellville

According to Snellville’s Chief of Police Roy Whitehead, the event gives citizens an opportunity to become involved with law enforcement in an effort to build partnerships to prevent crime. Snellville had a turn-out of more than 100 last year, and many more are expected this year. 

National Night Out will be celebrated on the Towne Green, in front of City Hall, this year. There will be exhibits, K-9 Unit demonstrations, and plenty of fun activities for the entire family. Approximately 28 vendors have signed up to participate, many with safety and crime prevention programs and equipment. There will also be a large “jump castle” for the children and free pizza.     

National Night Out is nationally sponsored by Target, and in Snellville by the Snellville Police Department, the Snellville Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association (SCPAAA) and the Snellville Tourism and Trade department.     

Dave Emanuel, a member of the SCPAAA and a city council candidate, volunteered to participate in the K-9 demonstration. Dressed in a bite suit, one of the highly trained dogs – either Euro, Bart, or Chris – will attack on command.  

“The Snellville Police Department does an outstanding job serving the city’s citizens, but I think a lot of people aren’t aware of the depth and breadth of the department," Emanuel said in a press release. "Having a private citizen participate in the canine demonstration is an excellent opportunity to bring increased recognition to a very deserving department—particularly the canine 'officers’ and their handlers.'"

Emanuel said in an interview with Snellville Patch that he went through the Citizen's Police Academy last year.

“I joined the Alumni Association after that," he said. "I learned a lot in the academy, but I wanted to do more than just go to the academy and call it a day. When the National Night Out came up and I heard they were doing a demo, I thought this would be a good way to get the word out.”  

“This department is just over the top,” Emanuel added in reference to the outstanding work the Snellville Police Department does.  

“The city has made a lot of progress,” Emanuel continued, “and I think it’s essential that the progress be continued. Anything you can do to make the city a better place to live is good for everyone.”  

Snellville is establishing a renewed sense of community. 

"I think there’s been a silver lining in the dark cloud of this recession," said Snellville Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer. "A lot of people are here now that can’t move away, so they are becoming more invested in the community."

The Gwinnett County C.O.P.S. program (Community Oriented Police Service) has seen an increase in requests for neighborhood watch programs.  

"We have 211 active C.O.P.S. programs and 19 going through the process," said Officer Eric Rooks, Gwinnett County’s Crime Prevention Coordinator. "They have seen things happen and want to make a change; the C.O.P.S. program works because folks know each other and care about each other."

Lilburn's National Night Out
Gwinnett County Police will also be at the Snellville event, and will also have a presence at the Target in Buford, as well as an apartment complex and Super Target in the area. They will also be active at Lilburn’s National Night Out celebration.  

“Sometimes folks don’t realize they have the same common interest in safety and security and the sense of community as police officers,” Officer Rooks said. “The National Night Out brings those like-minded individuals together to say that our neighborhood is important, and being crime-free is important. It’s one night a year that folks can come out and enjoy community, and talk about safety. It says that we are not going to let crime deter us from being a neighborhood.”  

Lilburn will have a similar celebration at Lilburn City Park. The Harmony Express Barbershop Quartet will be in concert, and Lilburn Police Chief Bruce Hedley will give a demonstration of the “Iron Sky” camera system. The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department, Norcross Police Department, Lawrenceville Police Department and Auburn Police Department will be giving a K-9 demonstration as well.  

Lilburn’s National Night Out coordinator Teresa Czyz believes the event will be fun, educational and informational. This is Lilburn’s second year. 

“The benefit of National Night Out revolves around better communications between neighbors, nieghborhoods and local government in regard to crime prevention, safety and security,” said Czyz. “When you know and care about your neighbors, you begin to care about your neighborhood and the entire community. It doesn't matter whether they live next door or in a different neighborhood, everyone has a stake in binding together to take care of one another and to watch over one another.” 

Safety Smart Lilburn sponsors the event, but a huge group of volunteers consisting of city officials and people in the community also have worked hard to make the event a success. 

Contact your community neighborhood watch association or your local police precinct for the nearest National Night Out celebration.  Meet and mingle with local police officers and members of your community who are equally interested in preventing crime and establishing a stronger sense of community.  For more information, visit the official National Night Out website.