Richmond, Virginia, Will Participate in the "24th Annual National Night Out" on August 7

Richmond, Virginia, will participate in the "24th Annual National Night Out" on August 7. Community members and local police officers will get together to celebrate their on-going effort to reduce crime in the city. Officer Vicki Cangelosi, National Night Out coordinator for the Richmond Police Department states, "It gives neighborhoods an opportunity to come out and meet with police in a proactive manor." She further indicated that criminals are less likely to be active in neighborhoods that are invested in themselves.

National Night Out began in 1984 and has grown to include more than 35 million participants nationwide. National Nigh Out brings police officers and citizens together and helps create a sense of community that might not exist otherwise. National Night Out is designed to heighten awareness of neighborhood crimes and drug prevention, strengthen neighborhood pride and encourage police-citizen partnerships.

Richmond.com reports, "To keep the spirit of National Night Out alive throughout the rest of the year, participating localities are asked to pick an ongoing project to work on. The progress made on these projects, which are referred to collectively as "Project 365," is announced at the community's National Night Out events."

The National Night Out organization offers suggestions for Project 365 projects on their website:

* A park plagued by crime, drug dealers, underage drinking, etc.

* A poorly lit corner where crime and drugs are prevalent.

* Expand the number of Neighborhood Watch groups in your community. Target those neighborhoods that have been traditionally tough to organize.

* Residential burglary. Pick a section of your community that is having a problem. Implement an auto theft protection program. Track the results.

* Robbery. Select a section of stores that have been hit recently. Institute a robbery reduction plan and track the results.

* Clean up a "problem area". Remove illegal trash piles, broken bottles, graffiti, abandoned cars, trash-filled vacant lots. A year long clean-up campaign can help reduce or eliminate existing problems.

Matt Peskin, director of Nation Night Out was quoted at Richmond.com, "People come out to have a good time and to meet the people around them, which they normally don't do . . . They also get to meet police officers when nothing bad is going on. After National Night Out, people are more likely to pick up the phone and call the police."

The City of Richmond has not officially registered a target project but they have been focusing on several specific Southside neighborhoods.

Henrico County, VA, which borders the City of Richmond on the north and west, won the 2006 Project 365 award for localities with 100,000 - 299,000 Population. The states of Minnesota and Texas tied for first place in the state-wide competition.