Barnegat's First National Night Out Draws A Large Crowd

BARNEGAT, NJ — The Barnegat Police Department received plenty of requests to participate in National Night Out. Then the community came out in full force Tuesday for Barnegat's first NNO event.

NNO is a nationwide program that aims to strengthen ties between the police department and the community they serve. Several local police departments have participated, including Stafford and Long Beach Township.

Now that Barnegat has hosted an NNO of its own, community members loved how it turned out.

"We thought the event was very successful," said Barnegat resident Tom Banks.

The concession stand gave out free food and drinks while live music was played to entertain the crowd. There was a wide array of activities for children like volleyball, cornhole, soccer and football.

There were yoga demonstrations and massages, a children's movie showing and a dunk tank that included Police Chief Keith Germain on the hot seat.

The event was made possible by the Barnegat School District, local businesses and organizations.

The Barnegat Fire Department and Barnegat First Aid held "Touch A Truck," which allowed kids to explore the interior of emergency vehicles, handle a fire hose and sit in a police car. The Popcorn Park Zoo held raffles and gave away merchandise.

There was a vast amount of local businesses at the event including the Ocean County Library, Oasis Family Success Center, Hanu Yoga, the Pheasant Run FireWise Committee and Hearts of Mercy.

"It's a great opportunity to meet with the community and be part of this event," said Dena Mayo, the director of community engagement for Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore.

A UH-72 Lakota helicopter performed a flyover later in the event. The craft touched down in a nearby parking lot and children were given the opportunity to climb inside as well as pose for photographs.

The helicopter was piloted by members of the New Jersey National Guard Counter Drug Task Force and flown out of Lakehurst.

The Barnegat Police Department's participation in the National Night Out comes on the heels of Barnegat being named one of NJ's 100 safest cities. According to alarms.org, Barnegat ranked 55th out of 100 cities on the National Council For Home Safety And Security's list.

Barnegat's Crime Reduction Unit was successful last year in making the town safer, Germain told Patch in January.

"CRU's impact on keeping crime at historically low levels in Barnegat cannot be understated," Germain said. "Great job by the members of CRU and Detective Rich Nowak who has done an excellent job leading the unit from its inception." Read more: Barnegat's Crime Reduction Unit Shows Success, Chief Says

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