City of Renton Invites Residents to Participate in National Night Out

Neighbors who spend time getting to know one another generally know who resides in each house on their block. They recognize the familiar vehicles. They probably also recognize the faces of the children who play outside, wait for school buses or walk to school.

So when something unfamiliar occurs - a strange car pulls up and an unfamiliar person lingers too long while trying to chat up a child - they know instantly something is wrong and can summon help.

Or in the event of a natural disaster, neighbors are frequently the first resources that citizens have before first responders can arrive.

All of this is why communities across the country continue to mark the yearly Neighbors Night Out event each year. In Renton, the city is inviting neighbors to reach out to each other via a block party or similar social gathering to form or fortify those connections in the interest of community safety and crime prevention.

From 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. residents are encouraged to leave their homes (and lock your doors) and spend time outside with your neighbors and police. The city is registering neighborhood events in order to prioritize the appearance of police officers or other representatives to speak about public safety and crime prevention. To register your neighborhood event, please contact Cyndie Parks at 425-430-7521 or email cparks@rentonwa.gov. 

The city itself is hosting an event preceding the evening's festivities with a gathering at Philip Arnold Park (720 Jones Ave S.) from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Food, games and more will be provided.

“National Night Out is a great way to strengthen our neighborhoods and to create partnerships between the police and local communities,” said Renton Police Chief Kevin Milosevich. “I enjoy the personal interactions I have with community members and this event is a way for people who work and live in Renton to get to know their police officers.”

“National Night Out is a way to send a message to criminals to let them know that neighborhoods are organized and united in fighting crime,” said Cyndie Parks, Renton’s NNO coordinator.

National Night Out, which is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW) and co-sponsored locally by the Renton Police Department, will involve over 15,325 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases around the world.  In all, 37.1 million people are expected to participate in “America’s Night Out Against Crime.”  NNO 2013 is being supported in part by TARGET, a national corporate sponsor.