Country prepares to celebrate National Night Out

Clowdus said if the October date in Texas is successful it could spread to other states.

"The National Night Out group in Pennsylvania has allowed Texas to hold its National Night Out on October 7th this year," he said. "If it is successful and if we do well, what they are looking at is perhaps having two National Nights Out dates, the first Tuesday in August and the first Tuesday in October every year for states to have a choice. I'm sure a lot of the other Southern states have had problems with the heat, too."

National Night Out, "America's Night Out Against Crime," was introduced by the National Association of Town Watch 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 anti-crime 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, Peskin proposed a national program which would be coordinated by local crime prevention agencies and organizations - but that would involve entire communities at one time.

"If we can get neighbors to look out for each other and call the police when they see suspicious activities, then the neighborhoods are much safer," Clowdus said. "National Night Out was born out of seeing the need to get more Neighborhood Watch programs either started or keeping them active."

He said another plus to changing the date in Texas is that October is Crime Prevention Month.

"This is one of our biggest crime prevention programs of the year," he said. "It gets the neighbors out to get to know each other as well as the police, fire and EMS people in their area. So we feel like October is ideal for this. We ask for our folks to have a block party or a street party for their particular blocks, and let us know they are having it. We compile a list of parties and send police, fire department and EMS personnel around to these parties. That gives their neighbors a chance to meet some of the public safety folks who work in their neighborhoods, and perhaps voice some of the concerns that they have in their area."

Since 1981, NATW's network has grown to include more than 6,000 crime, drug and violence prevention organizations nationwide. In Texas, Clowdus said, more than 1 million people are estimated to have taken part in the each of the past few years.

"The State of Texas for the last 13 years has been recognized nationally for its National Night Out program," he said. "For 12 of those years, Texas has been Number One in the nation. And for that one year, we were Number 2."

Rosie Salinas, chair of the Central Texas National Night Out Committee and Community Liaison with the Austin Police Department, said her department is one of many that supports the annual event, and particularly the change to the October date.

Salinas encourages participants in the National Night Out activities to submit newspaper or neighborhood articles and photos of their events for the State After-Action Report that will go to the National Association of Town Watch. "So if some cities are celebrating National Night Out in August, and are interested in being part of the state book, they need to send their materials to me by October 10," she said. Such materials should be sent to: Rosie Salinas, CCPS, Coordinator National Night Out, Austin Police Department, P.O. Box 689001, Austin, TX 78768-9001.

For more information on National Night Out, or to find information on a program near you, contact the NATW at 800-NITE-OUT / 610-649-7055, or at www.natw.org.