Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 6, 2013 marks the 30th anniversary of National Night Out. National Night Out (NNO) is a unique group of crime and drug prevention events sponsored National Association of Town Watch (NATW). The campaign involves citizens, civic groups, businesses, law enforcement agencies, neighborhood organizations and local officials from all 50 states, US territories, Canadian cities and military bases worldwide.
Neighborhoods across the country will be holding block parties tomorrow as part of NNO, encouraging people to get to know their neighbors and work together to promote cooperative, police/community crime prevention efforts. Last year’s campaign involved more than 15,000 communities worldwide. In all, more than 37 million people participated in NNO events in 2012.
The City of Minneapolis, Minnesota outranked all U.S. cities in NNO participation in 2012 (in the 250,000+ population category). Over 1,200 events took place, with over 65,000 citizens participating. The city, whose participation rate (17%) has led the nation for cities of its size, expects another strong showing this year, with over 1,450 registered thus far in 2013. So how do they do it? Let’s revist their tips in hopes that other communities can use the same tactics in years to come!
Build Your Audience
From the crime prevention/community perspective, dwindling resources means increasing outreach to find neighborhood leaders, block captains, and business partners. The City of Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) combats these challenges by leveraging their digital communications lists. The city has been using email alerts to reach residents and business with information on a variety of subjects and topics since 1995. When asking for an email address, the MPD also inquires about the neighborhood in which the subscriber lives. “Being able to capture where the subscribers live or work, and where they aren’t, helps us know where we need to do our outreach,” says Luther Krueger, Crime Prevention Analyst at the MPD. This has been especially helpful for the National Night Out events, where the MPD can quickly identify and then engage areas where they need block leaders or additional participants.
Provide Resources and Make it Easy!
County, city or public safety websites should serve as a helpful resource for citizens who want to learn more about how they can be involved. The City of Minneapolis makes it quick and easy for residents and businesses to collect information, engage their community, and have a successful event. Here are just a few examples of the resources they offer:
- Event ideas
- Tips on how to meet your neighbors
- Tips on how to ask businesses for a donation or sponsorship
- List of all registered events in case people want to attend, but can’t host
- Reminders to keep the lights on
- National Night Out promotional flyer templates, in various languages
Incentivize Participation
In many cities and counties, there is a block permit fee to register a location for an outdoor event. The City of Minneapolis waives this fee for early registrants, reducing the need for costs and resources that could be used on the event itself. If communities share resources, the city essentially gives everyone the opportunity to have a free event. Many county and city websites also tout in-person visits during NNO by officials to provide giveaways or prizes for families, children, and other participants.
Leverage Social Media
NNO is a social event, and social media can be the most powerful promotional tool. Not only can NNO be promoted on a county or city’s Facebook and Twitter pages, but communities and neighborhoods can create their own pages to invite friends and followers. Page and account administrators can post information and updates about the event, and get feedback from attendees on everything from food and games to whether a theme should be involved. Don’t forget, city and county employees at every level can get the word out. In the City of Minneapolis, the City Council, Mayor, and Chief of Police all actively promote national night out on social media, in mailings, and at other events.
Remind Your Participants!
Many police departments plan NNO weeks, or even months, in advance. To ensure the date is highlighted on citizens’ calendars, be sure to send them a few friendly reminders. The City of Minneapolis sent various email alerts and social media posts reminding participants to register their event as well as directed them to check out all of the great resources on the website.
Get Out There!
The point of National Night Out is to unite communities and public safety for the purposes of crime prevention. Showing up and participating at local NNO events increases trust and transparency and allows officials to continue educating citizens about safety while providing essential crime prevention information. City employees should hit the streets; meet business owners and residents; and bring back details on successful events that can be leveraged by communities the following year.
Follow Up
Just because National Night Out ends on August 7th,doesn’t mean community engagement should cease. NNO is an amazing opportunity to make relationships with participants who can be contacted to be crime prevention block leaders or community representatives throughout the rest of the year. Don’t miss out on the chance to build and solidify those connections. Krueger reminds us: “An organized community, partnering with police, solves problems more quickly, and with more sustainable crime reduction, than either partner acting without the other.”
For more information, or to find out how you can get involved, check out the National Night Out 2013 website.