Neighbors and city workers came together Tuesday night to celebrate community and spread crime awareness during annual National Night Out events.
“Neighborhoods from Illinois to California to Maine all celebrate on this night, where we get neighbors out together to talk about what’s going on in their neighborhoods, and also interact with everything from our police departments, our fire departments, public works, their elected officials,” Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli said.
Encouraging community interaction with city officials
Known as “America’s Night Out Against Crime,” National Night Out is held on the first Tuesday in August to foster conversations with city officials and first responders about crime prevention and drug use.
“There’s over 30 subdivisions in Naperville that will have varying parties,” Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said. “And it’s such an awesome opportunity from the police department’s perspective to interact with the residents, have some informal conversations with them.”
“It’s everything about how to protect yourself in your neighborhood,” Wehrli said. “We want to make sure they understand how important it is to lock their car doors and keep their keys locked away, all the way to potential financial crime and fraud. So it’s an opportunity for people to come out and ask those types of questions where they might not necessarily be too comfortable in calling the police department or asking a firefighter at a public forum. Here they can have a one-on-one conversation.”
From food trucks to bounce houses to yard games, Naperville neighborhoods go all out to bring the community together.
“Every neighborhood has their own unique flair they put on it,” Arres said.
National Night Out kicked off Monday at YMCA
The city has its own addition to the national celebration, kicking off events Monday night, Aug. 3, with a community gathering at the Fry Family YMCA. The city also collected donations this year for Little Friends.
“We had some food trucks out there, we had sno problems out there for some desserts, and then we show a movie, and it’s very similar to tonight,” Arres said. “Last night, people came to us. Tonight, we go to them.”
“This is my sixth National Night Out as chief, and every year they seem to get better and better,” Arres said.
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