National Night Out brings together communities against crime

It's an August evening with a mission of crime prevention and community connectedness, and it comes around every year.

It's National Night Out.

The main event is set, as it always is, for the first Tuesday in August in communities across DuPage County.

But Naperville, known as a city of big events that throws many a "party with a purpose," is stepping it up for the third year in a row with a citywide kickoff event on Monday, Aug. 6.

From 5 to 8 p.m. at Centennial Beach, 500 W. Jackson Ave., residents can swim, play games, get freebies and listen to entertainment, with a limited amount of free food thrown in for good measure.

Julie Smith, crime prevention specialist in the Naperville Police Department, said the downtown location allows people whose neighborhoods are marking the official Night Out on Tuesday to join with residents in areas that don't plan a specific celebration.

The event is free with a donation of a pet item to benefit the ADOPT Pet Shelter or the Naperville Area Humane Society. Smith said the city chose the groups as the Night Out charities this year to coincide with the launch of a Dog Walker Watch program called "Paws on Patrol" to encourage people walking their dogs to keep a closer eye out for unusual activities in their neighborhoods.

"It's good to bring home the important point of neighbors looking out for neighbors," Smith said. "It's one of the best crime prevention methods out there."

The crime prevention tactics continue Tuesday with the true National Night Out, which will be marked in other DuPage communities and thousands across the nation.

In Naperville, 48 subdivisions - the most in the city's 23-year history of participating in National Night Out - will come together for ice cream socials, concerts, cookouts and kids parades. They'll get visits from the city's police, fire, public works and utility departments, who come bearing crime prevention information and other municipal resources.

For first responders and crime prevention experts like Smith, the events are an excuse to meet everyday residents of the community they work to protect, and to see people on their best behavior, as opposed to during their worst moments.

"We like listening and interacting with members of the community, seeing what's important to them," Smith said.

As the Night Out tradition establishes more in Naperville and surrounding areas, Smith said residents see its value.

"It's become quite the tradition, and it's continuing to grow every year," she said. "It's a great event that really brings the whole community together."