LB Police Promote Unity With Tonight's Night Out

Neighborhoods throughout Long Beach are being invited to join forces with the Long Beach Police Department tonight as thousands of communities nationwide celebrate the “28th Annual National Night Out” crime and drug prevention event. 

“National Night Out” is a campaign to help build neighborhood unity and strengthen police-community partnerships, and designed to  heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, and generate support for and participation in local anti-crime efforts. The goal of the campaign is to send a message to criminals that neighbors are unified and looking out for one another, and working with police to keep crime out of their neighborhoods.

From 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. tonight, residents are asked to lock their doors, turn on outside lights and spend the evening outdoors with neighbors and police. Last year ten family-friendly block events were held citywide, ranging from ice-cream socials and potlucks to cookouts and block parties. This year, members of the Long Beach Police Department will be stopping by neighborhood National Night Out events as a show of support and thanks to community members for their involvement.

Neighbors who get to know each other are much more likely to watch out for one another, notice suspicious persons who don’t belong, and more apt to report suspicious activity and crime. This neighborhood involvement is the main concept of the Long Beach Police Department’s Community Watch program, which will be highlighted at all National Night Out events. For more information on the Community Watch program, visit the L.B.P.D. website at www.longbeach.gov/police.

For more information for your neighborhood, please call Long Beach Police Department Patrol Lieutenant Michael Beckman at (562) 570-5817.