National Night Out Connects Police and Community

HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Hundreds of people showed up for National Night Out in High Springs. For the past 40 years, communities throughout America hold a National Night Out event. Over 38 million neighbors take part in National Night Out across 16,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories and military bases worldwide get together for an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie.

The annual celebration is typically held on the first Tuesday in August, with the purpose of bringing law enforcement officers, emergency personnel and the public together to learn about local neighborhood crime, crime prevention tips, safety tips around the home and creating neighborhood watch groups in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.

Neighborhoods host block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts and various other community events along with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, including games and activities for children. It also gives the community a chance to meet their neighbors and get to know their local officers on a personal level.

High Springs is one of 100 communities in Florida that sponsors a National Night Out event. Each year first local responders and city staff host the event at the Civic Center field.

On Tuesday evening, Aug. 1, a line of police and fire vehicles parked with lights flashing to welcome attendees to the event. Kids were given the opportunity to explore the specially equipped vehicles as well as opportunities to play games and win prizes hosted by local civic organizations and churches.

There was also a long line of parents and students gathering for a free back-to-school giveaway of supplies and backpacks. Deeper Purpose Church, 1^st Baptist Church, Mount Olive Missionary Baptist church, Santa Fe Kiwanis Club, High Springs Police Department and the GFWC High Springs Women’s Club spent several months gathering new school supplies to distribute at the event to families in need. Everything was laid out in orderly rows as the families got the needed supplies for the new school year.

In the Civic Center field, police and fire vehicles were parked with crews giving information about the vehicles and answering questions as well as giving tours of their vehicles to curious children. A DJ played music for the crowd as people lined up to receive free hot dogs, pizza or burgers served by police department and City staff volunteers.

Various groups set up stations to give away small prizes or offer games for the kids. These included Childrens Trust of Alachua, GFWC Women’s Club, Santa Fe Kiwanis Club, and UF health.

Choi Kwang Do Martial Arts Academy set a up a practice dummy for kids to try their punches on. In the middle of the field was a small kiddie pool filled with water balloons. This quickly turned into a favorite spot for the kids, enjoying throwing water balloons at each other and also at several police officers who became involved in the good-natured fun.

National Night Out is not all games though. The Police Department gave advice about safety, drug issues and neighborhood crime prevention for families to better protect themselves and explained how police officers are there to help people and protect the community.

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