Updated August 5, 11:30 p.m.–
At least 13 different neighborhood groups held various outdoor social events around Citrus Heights Tuesday night, as part of National Night Out – an annual event focused on preventing crime by knowing and looking out for your neighbor.
“It was wonderful out here tonight,” said Greenback Wood Neighborhood Watch leader Susan Jenkins, who noticed a rise in participation this year. “It’s so important for people to come out and meet the neighbors they haven’t met before… it’s so important for crime prevention.”
Jenkins’ neighborhood celebration included free ice cream from a sponsor and a small parade led by a half-dozen Citrus Heights police vehicles and a Metro Fire ladder truck in the rear. The three-quarter mile parade looped through the Greenback Wood area, ending back up at the corner of Indian River Drive and Clay Basket Drive.
Elsewhere around the city, Citrus Heights police tweeted out a photo of community involvement at the Woodmore Oaks Neighborhood Watch celebration along with another photo of a detective “serenading” a National Night Out crowd on his ukelele.
Police Sgt. Michael Wells said the Citrus Heights Police Department was “very pleased” with the community turnout Tuesday night, previously telling The Sentinel that research indicates crime goes down when neighbors know and look out for each other.
Police Chief Christopher Boyd and other law enforcement personnel made an effort to attend events throughout the city, according to Sgt. Wells, who commented that “everyone involved enjoyed great food and conversation with all of the neighborhood watch groups.”
Citrus Heights Mayor Sue Frost called the night’s events a success and said she and other council members attended various National Night Out events around the city as well.
“We are very fortunate to have a police force that is engaged, listening and actively helping us help ourselves,” said Frost.
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