North Aurora to celebrate National Night Out

Submitted by North Aurora Police Department

The village of North Aurora Police Department will participate in the 28th annual “National Night Out” event Tuesday, Aug. 2.

National Night Out is an annual event designed to strengthen communities by encouraging neighborhoods to engage in stronger relationships with each other and with local law enforcement. The goal is to heighten crime-prevention awareness, build support and participation in local anti-crime programs, and, most importantly, send a message that our neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

National Night Out also is an opportunity for the citizens of North Aurora to come together for an evening of friendship and neighborhood unity.

The event consists of multiple citizen-hosted neighborhood gatherings throughout the village from 6 to 10 p.m., which provide citizens the opportunity to meet police officers from the North Aurora Police Department, increase citizen understanding of police services and interact with neighbors.

Some events serve food, some serve snacks and some only serve drinks The only thing that is required to have an event in your neighborhood is to invite your neighbors, turn on your outside lights, lock your doors and get to know each other.

This year’s event is complemented by the North Aurora Police Department’s new Police And Citizens Together program, which assigns officers to individual neighborhoods to work with citizens to solve crime and disorder problems.

PACT officers will visit any National Night Out gatherings in their assigned area, share information on the PACT program, show off squad cars and hand out giveaway items to the kids.

In addition, McGruff the Crime Dog will be out on patrol and will stop by as many gatherings as possible. Finally, the North Aurora Fire Department will have crews stopping by as many events as they can.

The North Aurora Police Department currently has assigned officers to 23 residential neighborhoods. To find out if your neighborhood has a PACT officer, visit www.vil.north-aurora.il.us/police/patrol.htm.Even if you don#146;t live in a PACT neighborhood, the police department still encourages you to participate. An officer will still stop by to tell you about the program and how to get it started in your area.

The National Night Out program began in 1984 and is held the first Tuesday in August. The program has been successful in promoting involvement in crime prevention activities, strengthening community relations and encouraging neighborhood camaraderie

For details about the event or for planning resources, visit www.nationalnightout.org.Target Corporation is once again the national sponsor for National Night Out. Locally, the North Aurora Target store, 1800 Orchard Gateway Blvd., provides giveaway items to support our local event.

For details, call your PACT officer or Crime Prevention Officer Robyn Stecklein at (630) 906-8146 or email rstecklein@vil.north-aurora.il.us.