Lawrence to Celebrate National Night Out on Tuesday

Lawrence Township’s annual National Night Out festivities will take place next Tuesday evening, Aug. 7, at Heritage Park, adjacent to the community center of the Eggerts Crossing Village complex at 175 Johnson Ave. from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The event is free and open to the entire Lawrence Township community. Food and refreshments, including hot dogs and hamburgers, will be served.

Lawrence Township Police Department officers will be on hand to distribute crime-prevention information and Officer Ron Buchanan will put on a demonstration with one of the department’s police dogs. Emergency vehicles will also be on display.

Representatives from the Lawrence Township Health Department, the Lawrence Township Drug & Alcohol Alliance, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, and Womanspace have also been invited to attend.

“It’s a night for residents to come together as a community and make a statement against crime,” township police Lt. Thomas Ritter said.

While the township’s organized National Night Event will take place at Eggerts Crossing Village, Ritter invited residents in other neighborhoods to take part by holding block parties with their neighbors or flagging down a passing police officer to talk.

Now in its 29th year, National Night Out is a drug prevention and anti-crime initiative sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch. More than 37 million people in 15,000 communities across the United States and Canada took place in the event last year, according to the National Night Out website.

to see photos from Lawrence Township's 2011 National Night Out.

Editor’s Note: The following history of National Night Out was included in the NNO press kit.

The National Association of Town Watch (NATW) is a nonprofit, crime prevention organization which works in cooperation with thousands of crime watch groups and law enforcement agencies throughout the country. Since 1981, NATW has been dedicated to the development, growth and maintenance of organized crime and drug prevention programs nationwide.

National Night Out, “America’s Night Out Against Crime,” was introduced by the Association in 1984. The program was the brainchild of NATW Executive Director Matt A. Peskin.

In an effort to heighten awareness and strengthen participation in local anticrime efforts, Peskin felt that a high-profile, high-impact type of crime prevention event was needed nationally. At that time, he noted that in a typical “crime watch community,” only 5 to 7 percent of the residents were participating actively.

Due to the growth and success of these programs, he felt this percentage was too low. Subsequently, he proposed a national program which would be coordinated by local crime prevention agencies and organizations – but that would involve entire communities at one time. The first National Night Out was introduced early in 1984 – with the event culminating on the first Tuesday in August

That first year, 400 communities in 23 states participated in National Night Out. Nationwide, 2.5 million Americans took part in 1984. The seed had been planted. In subsequent years, participation has grown steadily. The 28th Annual National Night Out last August involved 37.1 million people in 15,325 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities, and military bases worldwide.

National Night Out 2012 will culminate on August 7th. Over 15,300 communities are expected to take part. (Texas will celebrate on October 2nd.)

While the traditional “lights on” and front porch vigils remain a part of NNO, activities have expanded considerably over the years to include block parties, cookouts, parades, visits from police, festivals, neighborhood walks, safety fairs, contests, rallies and meetings.

Peskin said, “It’s a wonderful opportunity for communities nationwide to promote police-community partnerships, crime prevention, and neighborhood camaraderie. While the one night is certainly not an answer to crime, drugs and violence, National Night Out does represent the kind of spirit, energy and determination that is helping to make neighborhoods safer places throughout the year. It [NNO] is a night to celebrate safety and crime prevention successes – and to expand and strengthen programs for the next 364 days.”