The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
One night, two ways
UM, Norristown take different approaches to national event
UPPER MERION » The name National Night Out pretty much tells the story of the nationwide effort on Aug. 7 that will get folks out of their homes and into the streets — in the case of Norristown — or into a big box shopping center parking lot, King of Prussia-style.
The idea of a National Night Out was started by a network of law enforcement agencies and neighborhood watch groups back in 1984 as a way for folks to get to know their neighbors and take a stand against crime.
Anyone who participated in those early turnthe-porch-light-on vigils will handily relate to Norristown’s National Night Out in the 1300 block of Willow Street, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. featuring Norristown Police, Norristown Fire Department, Town Watch, local churches and organizations.
But those early Night-Outers might just as easily be pleasantly overwhelmed by the lavish festival that will be hosted by Upper Merion Township Police Department in the Target parking lot, 160 W. DeKalb Pike, King of Prussia, 6 to 9 p.m., featuring food, games, crafts and bounce houses for kids, raffle prizes and information — all for free.
Also attending the Upper Merion celebration will be several of the area’s surrounding police departments, including Whitpain Police Department; Bridgeport Police Department; Pennsylvania State Police; East Norriton Police Department; Valley Forge Park Rangers; Lower Providence Police Department; Plymouth Police Department; Conshohocken Police Department; Radnor Police Department; Montco SWAT; Montco Bomb Squad and Montco Forensics.
“The National Night Out is a national organization that brought a platform of positive police and community activities and interaction in building a stronger bond between the community and police officers,” noted chief organizer Upper Merion Police Officer Joseph Davies, who said that everyone is welcome to the event, no matter where you live.
“Since this is our department’s first time holding a National Night Out so I thought it would be a good idea to get as many police departments involved as possible,” Davies said. “I reached out to all these other police departments that are pretty much in a close region to us. That way when we have different county resources, like the Bomb Squad, Forensics and all these different organizations come out, we can get everybody in one spot. A junior firefighter cools off under the misting tent provided by American Water Pennsylvania at the National Night Out gathering in Norristown Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017. Some don’t have the manpower to be able to go to every single event. So we thought it would be better getting all these police departments together, all coming together as one in one environment with as many local and county resources as we can get.”
Also on hand will be Lafayette Ambulance; King of Prussia Fire Department; Swedeland Fire Department, Swedesburg Fire department; US. Army recruiters; Police and Fire Credit Union; Upper Merion Senior Service Center; Upper Merion Parks and Rec; Elmwood Park Zoo; Race for Peace; KOP- BID; Center for Autism; Laurel House; Cradles to Crayons; Hogs and Honeys; Simon Malls; Michael’s Crafts; The Boy Scouts; Meals on Wheels; Lego Land; Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board; Republic Services; Montgomery County Commissioners; Montco Family Services; Pet Smart and Women’s Center of Montco.
Good food will be in no short supply, with Target cooking up hot dogs, in addition to favorites provided by Mission BBQ, Via Veneto, Angelo’s Pizza, Chick-fil-A, Outback Steakhouse, Halal Guys, Bonefish Grill, Doubletree Hotel (cookies), Kona Ice, Dairy Queen, Paladar Latin Kitchen and Starbucks of King of Prussia Town Center.
“Target wanted to sponsor the event, so they’re letting us use their parking lot and helping us out with support for the event,” Davies said. “We’ve had such a large response from all the businesses, and everything about the event is free … free food, free inflatables, free carnival games, even free raffle tickets.”
National Night Out is far from being Upper Merion Police Department’s first attempt to make a real connection with the community.
The department recently formed the Community Oriented Policing Division, a program that hooks up random kids observed doing good deeds by an officer with a burger reward from The Habit Burger Grill in King of Prussia Town Center.
“The National Night Out started as a town watch and everybody coming together to promote a safer environment, with safer townships and communities, and at the same time trying to bridge that gap between police and community to developer a stronger bond,” Davies said.
“We’re trying to be more down to earth with the community, and in return everybody works together to help everybody out, and that will reduce the crime.”
Social media has become an important tool in helping Upper Merion police officers solve crimes, Davies noted.
“The community is a huge thing for the police when we’re trying to figure things out and solve crimes. It’s always good to be close and have as many friends as you can,” he said. “We put things on Facebook and we get such a huge response from the community identifying people and helping us with information. In the new age of policing you really have to be more a part of the community. We can all help each other out to create a safer environment.”