Lt. William Walsh says the event is a way for residents to learn about all emergency services in the township
National Night Out is back for the fourth year in Voorhees Township. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., Tues., Aug. 7, residents can gather at Connolly Park to enjoy the event meant to foster relationships between law enforcement and the public.
“This is an opportunity for neighbors to come out and meet one another and for us to meet them in a situation that is not an emergency,” Lt. William Walsh of the Voorhees Township Police Department said. Walsh has been part of the department since 2008 after serving in Cherry Hill from 2003.
National Night Out began in the 1980s and called for residents of a neighborhood to turn on a porch light to indicate they were welcome to converse with neighbors and also law enforcement officials who would ride around town to engage with residents.
As municipalities make it their own, Voorhees has chosen to centralize the event in Connolly Park to allow space for other emergency services in the community to offer information to people.
“We invite all residents to come out and meet their police officers and other emergency services. The fire department will be there, emergency medical services will be there. We also invite community partners with missions that overlap. We have drug counseling advocates, representatives from our local and county drug and alcohol abuse alliance will be there and the domestic violence response team will have volunteers there providing information on that and any other community members that approach us,” he said.
While information about emergency services is available, Walsh stressed that “it is a fun night for everyone.”
Children will be able to see and learn about police and fire vehicles and there will be a bounce house, games and several food vendors in attendance.
An aspect Walsh is excited about is the opportunity for residents to see a different side of their law enforcement officers.
“It is nice for our residents to talk with us when it’s not an official encounter and get to know us as human beings. It is a unique circumstance for us, people can come up to us and have conversation and find mutual interests,” he said.
While meant to garner relationships between law enforcement and the public, Walsh said National Night Out is also a great way to meet others in the the same community.
“A lot of the time we don’t get to meet our neighbors because we are all living such busy lives. It’s not like the days of the past when we get to see each other all the time outside. This is an opportunity for neighbors to come out and meet one another,” he said.
Entering into the event’s fourth year in the township, Walsh said it has grown.
“Every year we see more and more people wanting to come out either wanting to participate or just attend it, and I feel like every year we get even more service organizations that want to come out and spread the message of the good things their organizations are doing to help our residents,” Walsh said.
Walsh noted two community churches are volunteering with this year’s efforts along with multiple members who participated the police department’s annual Citizen Police classes in recent years.
According to the National Night Out website, more than 16,000 communities across the country take part each year in similar events.
