National Night Out

Plan for a Good Time and a Good-bye to Neighborhood Crime

24th Annual National Night Out is Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Our Block Club Coordinator is Kari Simonson who is available to help our block clubs organize for NNO (National Night Out). Contact her at: 331-2776. She can direct you to where you can get materials and ideas for a successfuly block party.

from CCP/SAFE: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/nno

The theme this year is "Police-Community Partnerships"

In 2006, despite the adverse weather, 39,000 Minneapolis residents took to the streets at more than 934 separate events. That's what will happen on National Night Out (NNO), August 3rd. This year NNO will be 24 years old and it's expected that 1500 Minneapolis block clubs will host more than 900 block parties. Some will be as simple as neighbors sharing lemonade while others will have music, dancing, pot-lucks, games, and other events.

National Night Out is an invitation to improve the quality of life in Minneapolis. In 2003 Lisa Klaphake, Minneapolis NNO coordinator said, "Neighbors who know each other, and who work together are the most effective crime prevention tool the city has. They make neighborhoods safer, more enjoyable and more livable places."

Minneapolis NNO is coordinated by CCP/SAFE, a unit of the Minneapolis Police Department. Even after 20 years NNO is still the only concerted event of its kind in the country, occurring in tens of thousands of places throughout the nation at the same time. NNO is far more than an event that takes place on one summer night. For many, it is the cohesive fixed point around which the work of block clubs begins and continues throughout the year. It helps establish the sense of community necessary to build and maintain a safer, more livable, more enjoyable city.

Minneapolis National Night Out: Mission, Messages and Goals

Mission Statement
National Night Out in Minneapolis is an annual event that builds community, generates support for anti-crime programs and strengthens police/community relations through hundreds of block parties and other events held on the first Tuesday of August.

Background
National Night is not just one night of the year, but the culmination of yearlong crime prevention activity in all Minneapolis neighborhoods: people working together in block and apartment clubs and other networks to prevent and address neighborhood problems. It is an occasion to celebrate past successes, discuss current challenges or issues, and re-dedicate to collaborative efforts with neighbors, police, businesses and others to improve the quality of life in our city.

Key Messages

* Cohesive, healthy neighborhoods are key to preventing crime and violence
* Active block clubs build community, increase hope and create harmony
* Positive activities displace negative activity; as people spend more time outside, they take back their streets and neighborhoods
* National Night Out is an opportunity for all parts of the community including businesses, corporate sponsors, religious institutions, city agencies and news media to come together around the shared goal of a safe, healthy community
* NNO reinforces the partnership of citizens and police to combat crime

Goals

* To utilize NNO to expand & strengthen the Minneapolis network of block clubs.
* To increase the number of block and multi-block events which bring people together and to increase the total number of participants
* To increase awareness of the event and of its messages through extensive media coverage prior to and after the event, with special emphasis on reaching diverse communities.
* To involve the Minneapolis Police Department with citizens by participating in National Night Out events
* To promote increased involvement of youth with their neighbors.
* To promote crime prevention strategies and increase ways that citizens can protect themselves and their property (i.e., dusk to dawn lighting, McGruff Houses, and others)
* To involve rental property owners in sponsoring NNO events for their tenants and/or encourage tenants to participate in events on their block
* To increase involvement of corporations and small businesses in contributing to, sponsoring and promoting NNO activities