National Night Out is August 7

The National Association of Town Watch (NATW) has announced that the “29thAnnual National Night Out (NNO) program will culminate on Tuesday, August 7, 2012.

Any municipality, law enforcement agency, crime prevention organization, community group or neighborhood that is interested in participating is invited to contact NATW now to receive information on National Night Out 2012. (Note: The State of Texas will be celebrating NNO on October 2nd this year.)

There is no cost to register. Once registered with NATW, local coordinators receive an organizational kit full of ‘how-to’ materials including planning suggestions, sample new releases, artwork, and promotional guides – and interim updates throughout the year.

NNO 2011 involved over 37 million people in 15,325 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities, and military bases worldwide. National Night Out 2012 is expected to be the largest ever. Once again this year, Target is a national corporate sponsor along with WhitePages.com. The newest NNO corporate partner is NextDoor.com which is a private social network; like Facebook but for your neighborhood.

National Night Out, a year-long community building campaign, is designed to: (1) Heighten crime prevention awareness; (2) Generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs; (3) Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and (4) Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Along with the traditional outside lights and front porch vigils, most cities and towns celebrate National Night Out with a variety of special citywide and neighborhood events such as block parties, cookouts, parades, festivals, visits from local officials and law enforcement, safety fairs, and youth events.

Don’t delay! Organizing in most communities begins early in the year. For free registration material call 1-800-NITE OUT or visit the National Night Out website at www.nationalnightout.org