I’ve been attending the 69th
Precinct’s National Night Out Against Crime almost as long as I’ve been working
at the Canarsie Courier – over a
decade now. Whether I covered it as a reporter or represented the Courier for a
few hours dispensing information on our newspaper, I observed the fun and
informational event sponsored every year by the NYPD and local elected
officials.
This Night Out is hosted all
over the country – with every precinct or district doing their own thing to
“fight crime” in their small communities. From my understanding, National Night
Out Against Crime is supposed to be a community effort to rally against violence
while improving partnerships between residents and the police department.
Years ago, when I covered the
Night Out for our precinct – and from what I saw other reporters cover –
hundreds marched in the streets chanting anti-violence messages up and down residential
blocks. Sometimes, our civic leaders sounded very upset at the rise in crime
and they’d shout their grievances until they got back to the location where the
Night Out festivities were taking place.
Isn’t anyone angry about
crime anymore? And when the hell did the “Against Crime” part of the program
disappear? Nothing personal against the NYPD or local civic organizations – but
there’s seemingly very little “anti-crime” activities taking place at our
National Night Out Against Crime.
I have the following
recommendations for the evening – instead of just playing music and setting up
tables filled with paper flyers people collect and then throw away at the end
of the night – that would make this national event more proactive, rewarding
and less like a casual social function:
•Have a designated NYPD unit set
up a station where they teach children and adults self-defense techniques and
provide real-world safety tips. They should also conduct demonstrations and
lectures on street safety and keeping your cell phone away while you’re walking
in the middle of the street! They can have also have the NYPD’s Gang Unit teach
kids to say “no” to getting involved with the wrong crowd. Create an imaginary
scenario where a pretend “gang member” approaches a youngster and offer them a prize
for handling the situation safely and diplomatically.
•While the Office of
Emergency Management sends local emergency response teams to sit at a table at
the Night Out to disseminate information, how about showing off what they do?
Have them set up a station with a dummy and teach residents about CPR, packing
a “Go-Bag” and do test drills with families every half hour to prepare them for
an emergency situation. They could also host “game show” style events – quiz
residents on their emergency preparedness skills for chances to win fun prizes!
•We’re all complaining about
car accidents and pedestrian safety – what about having a traffic safety
officer talk to residents about being safe on the roads? Have a road simulating
machine at the Night Out and see if adults can dodge oncoming traffic safely
without running a red light! This is not only about crime-prevention – it’s
about accident prevention and awareness.
These are just a few
suggestions, which I know would be costly, on making our National Night Out
mean a lot more than it presently does. Some precincts have bands performing –
which is nice, but how does that enhance or improve relations between the NYPD
and the community.
Let’s get real! Most young
people don’t think too highly of police officers, hence the never- ending
battle that resonates between cops and youths in our community. Is the NYPD
REALLY using the Night Out to repair the broken links which connect residents
to police officers?
With all of the tension that
exists – with all of the incidents happening in our community leading to gun
violence, why do we have insurance companies, health facilities and businesses
like banks setting up shop at a Night AGAINST
CRIME! Their representatives sit there for hours with informational flyers
and brochures. Take THAT you no good
hooligans! We’ll collect freebees while you’re perusing the neighborhood for
your next robbery or shooting target. Hey, for all we know, there could be criminals
attending our Night Out! Lovely!
Maybe it’s good for the sake
of getting the information out – but it’s NOT playing a part in taking our
streets back – which is the original intent of the nationwide event!
I love that the Explorers are
part of the evening. This is a group of teens who are enrolled in a youth
organization that teaches them about law enforcement. The Explorers program
helps instill morals, values and a sense of discipline in children who may not
have a healthy path ahead of them. Teaching them to respect authority when they’re
young is one tool they need to be equipped with early on in life.
So we’re entertaining them
with dance performances and face painting? Really? This event is supposed to
help fight crime?
I don’t want to be a killjoy,
but dancing and face painting are available at tons of other community events such
as street fairs, which are sponsored by various organizations.
The National Night Out is
meant to be a night out AGAINST
crime. Maybe we’ll ward off would-be criminals with paper cuts from all of
those handouts and brochures that wind up blowing into the overflowing trash
receptacles along our desolate avenues…
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