Bolivar Police host National Night Out to rally community engagement

BOLIVAR, Mo.- One local police department is bringing back a former event they used to create community growth in the Ozarks. The Bolivar Police Department hosted their National Night Out Sunday at the Bolivar Recreation and Aqua center.

Lieutenant Zack Palmer with the Bolivar Police Department said that most people only encounter fire or law enforcement when they are having a bad day. Palmer said having these events creates opportunities for the community to have positive interactions.

“The community connection and the positive impact on people and being able to communicate with them, see them outside of the bad days and just things like this is great,” Palmer said.

In order to make local neighborhoods safer places to live, National Night Out is an annual nationwide community-building initiative that looks to foster strong police-community collaborations and neighborhood togetherness.

Those in Bolivar had the opportunity to join local emergency crews at the recreation center to create a better sense of community.  Palmer said he is excited to see the event return.

“We used to do this event several years ago, and due to some staffing changes and things, we stopped doing it,” Palmer said. “We’re just bringing it back this year, It’s our first annual moving forward.”

At the National Night Out event, people took advantage of free swimming, a police K9 demonstration, food and visiting local vendor booths.

“We are doing community booths, a lot of area businesses that put up booths and different things, they’re giving things away and talking to people about safety,” Palmer said. “Polk County Health Center is here giving away bicycle helmets. They’ve also provided equipment, food, and they’re doing safety demonstrations.”

The department says they are looking forward to hosting more events like this to continue community growth.

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