Special to the NEWS
The San Benito Police Department (SBPD) holds its 16th Annual National Night Out on Monday, October 2, 2023, at W.H. Heavin Memorial Park, located at 705 N. Bowie St. just off Business Highway 77 in San Benito.
National Night Out is a free, family friendly event held between 6-8 p.m. The event is open to the public.
According to a City of San Benito press release, National Night Out promotes police and community partnerships with the objective to make the city a safer, friendlier place to live. It also enhances the relationship between neighbors and police while bringing back a true sense of family in the community.
Furthermore, according to the press release, the yearly event provides a way to bring police and families together while simultaneously having fun. It also provides an opportunity to bring police and the community together in a relaxed environment under positive circumstances, which is vital, now more than ever.
The event features be music, food, information booths, fun games and law enforcement vehicle tours.
According the official National Night Out website, the event was established by Matt Peskin in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, Penn., and has been held annually since 1984.
Peskin spent several years volunteering for the Lower Merion Community Watch program, which works in cooperation with the Lower Merion Police Department in Philadelphia, Penn. During his tenure as a volunteer in the township, he often patrolled his neighborhood, assisted in patrol dispatch and shortly thereafter, introduced the program’s newsletter, becoming a representation of the success that took place within the organization and the volunteer work put forth by over 1,000 neighbors.
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