NCJ Number
253531
Date Published
October 1999
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This Fact Sheet describes the features and benefits of National Night Out, a community-police partnership program that creates crime prevention awareness in the community through a variety of local events, such as block parties, cookouts, parades, contests, youth events, and seminars.
Abstract
Coordinated by local law enforcement agencies and trained volunteers, National Night Out events are designed to engage neighborhoods in local crime and drug-abuse prevention activities. The program is administered by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW), a nationwide organization dedicated to the development, maintenance, and promotion of community-based, law enforcement-affiliated crime-prevention activities. When first launched by NATW in 1984, the National Night Out program's community-building and crime-watch activities involved 2.5 million people in 400 communities in 23 states. Since then, the campaign has expanded with funding from the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). A targeting component of the National Night Out program is Project 365, which was introduced in 1994 to help communities identify specific problem areas and then commit to resolving these problems over the next 365 days. Communities that participate in National Night Out can receive a number of no-cost NATW services, including "how-to " materials. Sources of additional information on National Night Out are listed.