Police departments gear up for community event

Central Coast police officers are getting ready to participate in National Night Out. It’s an event meant to bring the community together.

On the first Tuesday of every August, police departments across America throw a community event known as National Night Out.

Patricia Kimball is a School Resource Officer in Seaside, she says “night out is a community partnership, along with a community and police just to build positive relationships.”

The event is free and has fun for the whole family. It includes music, bounce houses, and more. This year the event is celebrating its 35th anniversary. Kimball says, “I think it’s just a great event. It’s a great opportunity to meet everyone in the community and in a positive way.”

Seaside has been participating in this event for several years now. Last year bringing in hundreds of members from the community. But other cities on the Central Coast are just getting started.

Jake Pinkas with the Monterey County Police Dept. says, “This is the first year that we are really trying to put efforts, and start every year… annual thing.”

And many other locations across the Central Coast are participating including: Pacific Grove, Carmel, King City and Salinas. And while the event is driven to bring the community together, it’s also about the kids. “It’s important to start building those relationships with police, especially when they are small. So that they can know we are here to help and not for them to be afraid of us,” says Kimball.

And Sgt. Pinkas says he is excited for the community to show up. “I think it’s always good for, anytime the government agencies, public agencies can reach out to the community. And we can have an event that is not just thrown by us, but everyone together. It’s a great partnership.”

You can find out more about the event here: https://natw.org/.