Sioux Center, Iowa — This Tuesday evening is “National Night Out.”
National Night Out is a community policing awareness-raising event in the United States, held the first Tuesday of August. It’s been going on since it was first organized in 1984 in the Philadelphia area, and has been expanding basically ever since.
The event is meant to increase awareness about police programs in communities, such as drug prevention, town watch, neighborhood watch, and other anti-crime efforts.
The events are typically organized by block watches, nonprofit organizations, companies, and police departments. These events can be as simple as backyard cookouts or as complex as full-blown festivals.
This year, the Sioux Center Police Department is participating. Organizers tell us their event, in Central Park in Sioux Center will run from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., and will be a night of fun, community, and connection with the police department. The Sioux Center Fire Department and Sioux Center EMS Squad will also be there.
They tell us it is a great opportunity to meet and greet officers, explore police and emergency vehicles up-close, enjoy ice cream, courtesy of Fareway, and listen to music. There are even bouncy castles for the kids. Again, that’s this Tuesday evening, August 6th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Central Park in Sioux Center.
We talked to other law enforcement agencies in northwest Iowa and many of them indicated they may consider doing an event next year.
