By Brittany Anderson
KYLE — Last week, residents and law enforcement agencies around Hays County participated in a worldwide event that seeks to strengthen the relationship between communities and police.
Along with the opportunity to meet and chat with law enforcement, vendors such as CERT (Citizen Emergency Response Team) set up booths to further educate the community on safety.
National Night Out is held on the first Tuesday of October in Texas and is aimed at bringing citizens, law enforcement agencies, local officials and businesses together to increase anti-crime awareness while also strengthening community partnerships.
The Kyle Police Department hosted a downtown party at Mary Kyle Hartson City Square Park on Oct. 4, giving community members the opportunity to meet and talk with law enforcement officers and other first responders.
The party also featured local vendors from organizations like Hays County Crime Stoppers and CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), and sausage wraps were provided by the Kyle VFW Post 12058 and Kyle Masons Lodge 304.
The Hays County Sheriff’s Office and other local agencies also visited the nearly 30 neighborhood block parties going on for National Night Out to meet residents, speak about important safety topics and hand out a variety of safety literature and other goodies. Neighborhoods like Shadow Creek in Buda even had appearances from the Austin Mounted Patrol and activities like a kid-friendly traffic safety course.
Members of the Kyle VFW Post 12058 and Kyle Masonic Lodge 304, including Ray, left, and David, right, provided sausage wraps and bottled water at the downtown party.
During the event, residents were encouraged to turn on their porch lights to show unity against criminal activity.
Kyle PD Officer James Plant said that National Night Out event gives residents the opportunity to meet law enforcement in a more casual setting as opposed to a grief-stricken, stressful situation, which is oftentimes the circumstances that people meet them under. Events like this, he said, allows for positive interaction between law enforcement and the community, from young kids to older adults.
Mark your calendar for the next National Night Out in Texas, which will take place on Oct. 3, 2023. More information can be found at www.natw.org.
