A community on watch
Lodi police accepting National Night Out applications
For nearly four decades, residents throughout Lodi have come together on the first Tuesday in August to host parties and meetings in an effort to reduce crime in the community as part of National Night Out.
On Wednesday, Mayor Mark Chandler proclaimed Aug. 2 as National Night Out, and the Lodi Police Department is currently accepting participation applications from residents to host gatherings that evening.
“It is so important that we all pay attention and look after our neighborhoods,” Chandler said. “The people on the council get the (police department) shift reports. It’s pretty frightening out there, on a daily basis.”
National Night Out was started by the National Association of Town Watch in 1984, and Lodi began participating in 1988.
Last year, there were 35 National Night Out gatherings throughout Lodi, including block parties, cookouts, ice cream socials and anti-crime rallies.
According to a Wednesday night staff report, the city is expecting that more than 70 Neighborhood Watch groups in Lodi will file applications.
“National Night Out is just kind of the tip of the iceberg,” Partners member Chet Somera said during Chandler’s proclamation.
“We are definitely going out and creating more and more of these neighborhood watches,” he said. “We found that (Neighborhood Watch) is certainly something important in our community. We not only have neighborhood watches, but we have business watches we are going to start up.”
Somera added that the department and its Partners unit — which oversees National Night Out operations — will also be starting faith-based watches, as Lodi has more than 100 places of worship, and faith-based communities around the nation have been targets of crime in recent years.
“I certainly hope there are going to be a lot more people that are going to get involved,” Somera said. “We have about 35 host places at this time and we’ve noticed that they are coming in and coming in strong. The numbers that we’re having at those different events in those different neighborhoods are increasing in size. So it’s a wonderful thing.”
The purpose of National Night Out is to increase crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support and participation in anti-crime programs, strengthen neighborhood spirit and partnerships with police, and send a message to criminals that neighborhoods are organized and will fight to keep their community safe.
Somera said Lodi City Council members, the Partners, police officers, Lodi firefighters and AMR, as well as other community organizations and leaders, will visit various gatherings around town to speak with residents.
Some visitors will be handing out informational pamphlets, badge stickers and other promotional products to event hosts throughout the evening.
“There was one thing that COVID did for us, and that made us really stay home,” Somera said. “And what I noticed was that there were a lot more neighbors coming together. It’s just amazing. They’re reaching out to each other, they’re helping each other, and that’s exactly what we need to keep our streets safe. And National Night Out is a great reminder of that.”
To register your national Night Out event, visit www.lodi.gov/327/NationalNight-Out and print out the proper forms. You can then return them to the Lodi Police Department’s Crime Prevention Unit at 215 W. Elm St., Lodi, Calif., 95240, or you can fax 209-333-5520. You can also email crimeprevention@lodi.gov.
If you would like to block your street off to traffic the evening of Aug. 2, fees and insurance requirements are being waived. However, encroachment permits are still required. Contact Lodi Public Works at 209-333-6706 for more information.
“This is an important night for the community to come together to make sure that we’re all involved in fighting crime in the city,” police Capt. David Griffin said. “We’re all involved in making the city of Lodi a better place for all of us to live.”
For more information about National Night Out, call 209-333-6787 or email crimeprevention@lodi.gov.