Benedictine invites public to National Night Out event

Crime prevention is not solely the responsibility of the police, but requires individual members of the community working hand-in-hand with law enforcement to stand up and advocate on behalf of the safety and rights of citizens.

To further build on this partnership, the Benedictine University Police Department invites the public to attend a "National Night Out" event from 5 to 8 p.m. Aug. 5 at the university's main campus, 5700 College Road, Lisle.

National Night Out is an event held to promote crime prevention awareness, emergency preparedness, police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. Since 1984 when the event began, it has involved more than 38 million people in 16,000 communities from all 50 states.

Visitors at the Benedictine event will have the opportunity to view police and fire vehicles and other equipment on display, and interact with members of the Lisle Police Department, the Woodridge Police Department, the Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District, Lewis University police, Brookfield Zoo Police Department, the DuPage County Sheriff's Department, Illinois State Police, the Illinois Secretary of State police, Illinois Department of Natural Resources conservation police, Illinois Commerce Commission police and the drug enforcement officials.

The event also features a K-9 narcotics detection demonstration, games for children, raffles, food, giveaways, appearances by the Chicago Red Stars professional women's soccer team, and a live performance in tribute to fallen police officers and firefighters by the Bagpipes & Drums of the Emerald Society of the Chicago Police Department.

"This is a great chance for anyone to come and learn more about their local emergency service providers and what we do in an open, fun and friendly setting," said Michael Salatino, chief of Benedictine University police.

"This is also a great time for us to address questions and get better acquainted with people who care deeply about the strength and vitality of their community."

The evening will conclude with a softball game featuring the Lisle and Benedictine University police vs. the Lisle-Woodridge Fire District at the Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex.

The event is sponsored by area businesses, the Lisle Park District, the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Red Stars, Chicago Sky, Target, Jewel, Moon Jump Inc., AdvoCare, Brookfield Zoo and US 99.5 (WUSN-99.5 FM).

For more information about National Night Out, contact Jordan Billups-Taylor at (630) 829-6662 or jbillups-taylor@ben.edu.