Night Out Against Crime event big success in Kirkland

By Carrie Rodriguez • August 12, 2010 6:03 pm
Highlands resident Jim Szabo tries on police gear at the National Night Out Against Crime event he organized on Aug. 3 in his neighborhood. In addition to ice cream sundaes; 50 neighbors were treated to a visit by a fire truck
Highlands resident Jim Szabo tries on police gear at the National Night Out Against Crime event he organized on Aug. 3 in his neighborhood. In addition to ice cream sundaes; 50 neighbors were treated to a visit by a fire truck

More than 150 Kirkland residents participated in the National Night Out Against Crime event on Aug. 3 – more than four times the amount of citizens who turned out last year, noted Kirkland Neighborhood Resource Officer, Jon Ishmael.

That makes this year’s event a huge success, says Ishmael, adding that the City of Kirkland encouraged residents to host their own neighborhood block parties to celebrate the unique crime prevention event. In response, four neighborhoods – the Highlands, South Rose Hill, Norkirk and Everest – closed streets to throw barbecues and ice cream socials.

“It’s important to get to know your immediate neighborhood,” said Ishmael. “We suggest people do that because it tends to take a little work off the Kirkland Police Department. It gets people more involved.”

During the event, the Kirkland Fire and Police departments visited each neighborhood, rolling up in fire trucks, police cruisers and even a SWAT truck.

“A lot of people said, ‘oh, I didn’t even know Kirkland had a SWAT team,” said Ishmael, who also visited the four neighborhoods during the event. He spoke to neighbors about home security, fraud prevention and how to prevent car theft.

Many adults even tried on the full SWAT gear, making the event fun for all ages, he said.