CAMBRIDGE — This year’s National Night Out event in Cambridge brought more people, more hotdogs and more smiles.
“Like many other years, it was another successful year,” Cambridge Police Chief Justin Todd said. “We had tons of kids and a lot of people and businesses and community leaders that came out and all took part. It was all smiles.”
Between 800 and 900 people showed up to the Dorchester County Pool on Aug. 6 for National Night Out on, compared to around 600 people last year, Cambridge Police Captain Antoine Patton said.
Patton said all of the feedback he received about the evening was positive. He said multiple children came up to him to thank him and tell him they had a great time.
Todd said all of the positive feedback is why the police department continues to hold the event at the pool year after year.
“I think there’s just something about being at the county pool and the kids being able to have the opportunity to swim for a couple hours, not worry about any prices or charges and just enjoy time with their friends and family,” he said.
Todd said it was a perfect night: Not too hot, and there weren’t any storms.
Attendees were able to talk with a variety of vendors, from the Dorchester County Health Department to the Department of Juvenile Services to the Boys and Girls Club. The different vendors offered pamphlets and information about the resources they have available to residents.
Similar to the number of attendees, Patton said there were more vendors at this year’s event than in years past. Todd said that number has increased every year.
“And it’s good because you get those necessary resources and information that people may not otherwise see or get,” Todd said. “It actually gets handed to them. And they can talk to one another and start forming those bonds.”
Along with swimming in the pool, listening to the music played by DJ Doc Lane and eating hotdogs courtesy of the police department, a handful of lucky attendees won prizes that had been donated by Paul Davis Restoration. Prizes ranged from a TV, to a Minnie Mouse kitchen set, to a gas grill, to baskets filled with household goods.
“The lady who won a TV actually cried,” Patton said.
Not only did attendees get served the 700 hotdogs the police station cooked up, but MidShore Meals til Monday — a nonprofit that provides food for food-insecure children and families in Dorchester County — handed out bags of food, Patton said.
Todd said National Night Out represents what Cambridge police have been trying to do for the last two years: community-oriented policing.
“It’s building relationships between the police and the community,” he said. “But also (building) other relationships such as (with) Juvenile Services, the health department, the Dorchester County school system. ... Us all working together to build a stronger community for tomorrow.”
According to National Night Out’s website, the event was first held in 1984. It aims to promote partnerships between the police and community nationwide, as well as make neighborhoods safer. Patton said the event was created with the intention of having a night without crime in every community.
“And what it does is it brings community together and it gives them a live interaction with law enforcement officers to let the community know that we’re working together and we support them just like they support us,” he said about the event.
Patton thanked Dorchester County Recreation and Parks for allowing Cambridge police to hold the event at the county pool.
“It was a great event and we look forward to doing it again,” he said.
Most Popular
Comments / 0