National Night Out Against Crime on August 7th
By Marie Blood | 2nd August 2007
Peoria’s rebuttal to the murder and mayhem of the past few months is to throw a wingding of a party!
Yes, August 7 is the 24th annual National Night Out (NNO) Against Crime festivities in Peoria with 25 Neighborhood Association and four Neighborhood Watch parties. Everything will be featured from Gospel Choirs and Karaoke to car shows and ice cream socials.
Peoria’s participants will join 35 million people in more than 11,000 communities nationwide to promote police-community partnerships; crime, drug and violence prevention, and safety and neighborhood unity. “It is basically a celebration of community,” says Neighborhood Development Specialist for the City of Peoria’s Planning and Growth Management Commission, Steve Fairbanks, this year’s event coordinator. “It’s a big block party for bringing people out to enjoy company and have fun.
“Some neighborhood people are discouraged about what is happening with blight and petty crime,” says Fairbanks. “This is a way for people to say, ‘We are still here; we are still living here; this is our city, and we care about our neighborhood.’”
Fairbanks sees the importance of thousands of citizens gathering in the streets each year to show a force of community: “The children in the neighborhoods need to see that adults are alive, alert and enthusiastic,” he adds. Without this show of adult force, Fairbanks says, the older kids will take over that position; i.e., gangs.
“This has happened in some places.” he states.
Meanwhile at 6:30 p.m. on the allotted day Woodbrook Homeowner’s Association will feature a police car, tire truck and ice cream social. At 7:00 p.m. Columbia Terrace North Neighborhood Association will dedicate an association clubhouse to be renamed after Floyd Nolan; and East Bluff Serenity Neighborhood Association will feature a car show, smokehouse, dunk tank, kid’s playpen, Karaoke, and hot dogs starting at 6:30 p.m. Also, the East Bluff Neighborhood Association will provide popcorn, snow cones, beverages, a D.J., gospel choir, and games for kids starting at 4 p.m., just to name a few highlights.
For a full listing of all event limes and locations to be sent to you, call Steve Fairbanks at 494-8603.
This year Fairbanks has a $6,000 budget from the City of Peoria and is offering a $200 reimbursement to each Neighborhood watch group to help cover event expenses.
However, he says he cannot do the same for the participating Neighborhood Watch groups: “They are generally too small and they don’t have accounts.”
According to Fairbanks, stuffed bears and bracelets will he handed out to children participating in the events.
City Council members will be provided transportation in vans to all events that evening, where a Mayor’s Proclamation will be read.
Crime Stoppers Crime Fighting Dog McGruff will also be riding along in the van as the event’s official mascot.
Fairbanks says everybody is invited to participate, and is especially happy to have car shows that will draw the young people.
“It’s going to be all young guys with their low riders,” Fairbanks enthuses.
“It’s (NNO) a good thing to do. You have some people that are “hard core” gang members and then there are the majority that are just “hangers on” and on the periphery; they don’t have any guidance,” he explains.
So, does this National Night Out make a dent in the crime problems in the neighborhoods?
“Of course we do,” enthuses Fairbanks. “I think that people getting out once a year just adds to the energy that is already cooking in the neighborhood associations.”
He adds that the exchanges of information and enthusiasm help to cement the community together.
“The police are only able to do so much and they are reacting, and if they don’t have eyes and ears (of the community) to help them, they are basically hampered in their efforts,” surmises Fairbanks. “The outreach to the youth is a huge thing, and that needs to be ongoing,” he adds.
Fairbanks says he has been impressed with so many people who are regular citizens coming up with ideas, organization, and brainstorming sessions for different ways to address some of the problems in Peoria.
“From the South End to the Far North, and in the subdivisions, it has been very invigorating,” Fairbanks says of the input.
What’s the feedback from previous National Night Out celebrations?
“A lot of people let us know that they had a great time with the kids, and that they met people in their neighborhood that they didn’t even realize lived there. They also love the reimbursement and the toys provided,” enumerates Fairbanks.
He is hoping a lot more people will get involved in their neighborhood associations or even start new ones as a result of participating in the NNO festivities.
Fairbanks sums up: “It (NNO) is just a kind of re-invigorating and reminding people there are a vast majority of Peoria citizens that are caring and friendly and want to work together to make things better.”
EDITOR’S NOTE:
A city like Peoria recently realized the value and impact of that thing called “community.” San Bernardino, California registered its 31st homicide last year when an 11-year old boy was shot to death on a school basketball court. This was a wakeup call to the citizenry that something had to be done. Their newly elected mayor was focused on digging deeper into social, economic and family issues which had contributed to the burgeoning crime in their community; from there, the citizens were mobilized to act. Groups sprung up over the city; money started pouring in to support initiatives to fight back at gangs and crime. Even County and state police loaned officers to the city and by year’s end an additional 26 officers had been added to the local police force. With everyone working together murders were down 15 percent by year’s end.