Fighting crime can be as easy as meeting your neighbors.
Many Vancouver residents did just that by celebrating National Night Out on Aug. 3. The annual event is designed to strengthen neighborhood-police relations and crime awareness. According to the event website, more than 36 million Americans participated in last year’s event. The Vancouver Police Department was aware of 13 Vancouver neighborhoods that participated this year.
One of those was the Central Park neighborhood.
Central Park — just east of Interstate 5 near downtown Vancouver and home to Clark College — combined the event with its annual neighborhood picnic. More than 40 residents were in attendance, according to Joyce Malin, wife of neighborhood association president Dick Malin.
Dick Malin said conversation generally emphasized awareness of local safety issues including: pilfering, yard landscape theft and the occasional drug dealer operating on the streets. Vancouver Police Chief Cliff Cook, Assistant Chief Nannette Kistler and a SWAT truck made guest appearances, but the star of the show was the potluck spread of food brought by neighbors.
“The secret factor is the food,” Dick Malin said. “As long as you do a good job on food, people will come.”
Across town, 70 residents of the First Place Neighborhood — located south of Northeast 18th Street near Evergreen High School — met in the neighborhood park. This was the first year it participated in National Night Out, and attendance was higher than expected. Association president Susan Page attributes the turnout to residents’ concern over looming cuts in police and fire. “We cant get them out for a picnic, but we sure as heck can get them out for public safety,” she said.
The neighborhood is ready to go into “crime watch mode,” Page said. Residents plan to get to know each other and keep an eye out for suspicious activities. They’ll take photos and license plate numbers and use the e-mail tree to distribute the information throughout the neighborhoods.
Downtown gathering
Things were a little more relaxed in downtown Vancouver.
Esther Short’s celebration was more of a neighborhood gathering than discussion about crime. That isn’t because residents aren’t concerned about safety. The downtown neighborhood has its fair share of crime, but Vancouver Police Cpl. Drue Russell is already working with a group of neighbors to increase safety.
Association secretary and treasurer Patricia Coulthard said around 70 people, including a fair number of children, showed up for free ice cream and to listen to the blues and jazz music of band JEM.
People also welcomed officers from the Vancouver Police Department and toured their SWAT truck. There were a lot of informal questions and answers; one woman asked if it was legal to park her motor scooter on the sidewalk, Coulthard said.
There were other celebrations throughout the county. Ridgefield hosted a celebration at downtown’s Davis Park on Main Avenue. Battle Ground, which has hosted a night out in Central Park the past six years, was forced to cut this year’s event due to budget constraints.
Paul Suarez: 360-735-4530 or paul.suarez@columbian.com.
