by Alex Lloyd Gross
Aug 3,2022
Last night was National Night Out. Across the nation, different police departments came out to participate in the event in their own way. It is a way to bring out the business community and residents and get a community together with law enforcement and public safety personnel. Major cities,like Philadelphia will hold multiple events at various locations, like a parking lot of a store.
In the Tacony section of the city, about a dozen different agencies had set up tables with information about them, offering crime prevention and safety tips. The FBI Community Outreach Team was there with cut outs of agents in different aspects of the job, Someone could stand behind it and their face would be the face of a tactical agent or one with a suit on. This was held at the Shoprite store on Harbison Ave. Politicians and different agencies like the State Parole Board, or Office of Emergency Management gave out free swag and literature.
In Bensalem, the FBI SWAT team was there, at the township complex with an armored vehicle people could crawl around in. The famous Copsickle was there, giving out free ice cream and the Crime Scene Unit was flying a drone to show off their skills and show real time video of the event State Rep KC Tomlinson was there, meeting her constituents and finding out what was on their minds. Free hot dogs and drinks were given out.
The Philadelphia Police Tac Air unit did a quick fly by. They could not land, due to time constraints. This was primarily a police themed event, with no firetrucks or anything else, save for the large Emergency Management Command Bus . Other places , like Bristol Township had all five fire companies out with their trucks, available for kids to climb in and out of. They had a K-9 demonstration and a command post truck at their township complex
In other areas of the country, fire companies showed off their extrication skills. while some people had a community walk through different neighborhoods. Some smaller communities would hold their event at their police headquarters. Other, like Bristol Borough went off site for theirs. The hours that the events were open ranged from 5;00 PM until about 8:30 PM.
When a department sends a representative to do a public event like this, they can expect to be photographed and put on social media. Those that hope to be undercover or don’t want to be photographed should not participate in the event