National Night Out to introduce safety program

National Night Out will return Aug. 7 to Oakwood Park in Lorain, and with a new bicycle program.

The Lorain Police Department will present its new bicycle registration program during National Night Out’s 35th year.

This new registration program helps return stolen bikes back to their owners.

Lorain police will have a safety bicycle ride for children and adults that will begin on Oakwood Drive to East 31st Street, to Globe Avenue, then to East 30th Street and back to Oakwood Drive.

There will be various activities for all ages as well as local food vendors providing free food and local barbershops offering free haircuts.

Lorain police and fire departments, the Ohio Highway Patrol, the FBI, LifeCare and Lorain County Metro Parks rangers will attend to engage with guests.

Lorain Ward 6 Councilman Angel Arroyo Jr. said this event brings local law enforcement and the community together.

Arroyo said he has helped orchestrate the last few events on the city’s south side on Pearl Avenue.

The last event was two years ago and 1,500 guests attended, he said.

The introduction of the new bicycle program and safety ride is a good way to present community policing, Arroyo said.

Lorain police Officer Jake Morris, who assists the Lorain Police Explorers, will run the bike registration program. The Police Explorers is a community service program of high school students who are trained in police activities, Morris said.

Lorain police has several reports of stolen bikes. Because the owners don’t know their bike’s model or serial number, police can’t return them, Morris said.

Police Explorers will register bike owners and their bikes into the program, he said. Bike owners will receive personal identification number, similar to a license plate.

Information of the bike and its owner such as an address, phone number and email address can help recover the bikes and reunite them with their owners if ever stolen or lost, he said.

The information only goes directly to Lorain Police Department.

This is the first time Morris will participate in the National Night Out, and he said he is glad to introduce the bike program to the community.

“It feels like a good fit to get the program running during (the event),” he said.

Police Explorers have worked hard to get the program started, Morris said.

The police department plans to expand the safety program to other parks, he said.

Officer Reuben Figueroa also assists in the registration program.

Figueroa said he has attended National Night Out in Lorain as an officer, and as a youngster.

He encourages bike riders to bring their bikes along for fun and to engage in the activities with law enforcement.

The event also is a great time to introduce more safety resources and programs for the young children in the community, Figueroa said.

“We (law enforcement) enjoy getting out there with the community,” he said. “We want to be available and be a resource that helps unite other organizations together. We also want to be visible and approachable to the young kids.”

Figueroa said being there for the community has a positive effect on people that can go a long way in making change.

“We are the community,” he said. “We live here and we enjoy being a part of the city.”

The National Night Out event takes place from 5 to 8:30 p.m.