Printable VersionLake Havasu City citizens will soon be given an official chance to meet their neighbors during Havasu Night Out block party scheduled 5-8 p.m. March 9-10.
“It is an opportunity for neighbors to get together to ask questions of law enforcement about traffic or active types of crime in their neighborhood,” said Havasu Night Out organizer Maria Mitchell, of Lake Havasu City Police Department.
The two-day event will show residents the different types of services available in the community as well as rally neighbors, Mitchell said.
Agencies on board with the event include Lake Havasu City Police Department, Lake Havasu City Fire Department, H.A.V.E.N. Family Resource Center, and Western Arizona Humane Society.
Representatives from each agency or organization will visit the neighborhoods and be available to provide information.
Fire department representatives can answer questions about safety and hazard questions.
H.A.V.E.N. representatives will share information about resources available to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault crimes as well as how the Food For Kids program helps under-privileged kids in the area, Mitchell said.
WAHS, which provides animal control for the city, will have representatives on hand to discuss how to best care for animals in the summer heat, how to best handle animals around children and seniors, and shed light on local laws pertaining to pets, the organizer said.
The cluster-type gatherings around town also would be an excellent time for neighbors to discuss organizing a neighborhood watch program among each other if they have not already done so, Mitchell said.
“We do get calls about suspicious activity … and because of those calls here in Lake Havasu City, we have caught guys with back packs who had already broken a window with their burglary tools,” Mitchell said.
Becoming familiar with neighbors is not only to fight crime but to also provide a network system for neighbors to help each other out, Mitchell explained.
“There are a lot of citizens in Lake Havasu City that have no family that live here. In an emergency they will have to depend on their neighbors and friends,” she said.
Mitchell works in many capacities for the local police department including interpreter, sex offender registration, neighborhood watch and crime reports coordinator.
Havasu Night Out is a spin-off of National Night Out, which is scheduled Aug. 3, 2010, in other parts of the United States, according to the host organization’s site www.nationaltownwatch.org.
Havasu Night Out is scheduled in March because of its more moderate temperatures. The heat in August would make the gathering more difficult. This is the second year for the block party, the organizer said.
Night Out programs demonstrate that partnerships and coalitions can be built and nurtured at the community level for the purpose of establishing cost-effective crime control strategies, according to the event information provided by the police department.
Existing Havasu Neighborhood Watch captains and co-captains are encouraged to notify their associated watch groups and Mitchell no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The event also will accommodate anyone who is interested in participating. Those who are interested need only gather with neighbors in front yards or garages.
If interested participants who are not part of a watch group or know of a neighborhood watch captain in their area, contact Mitchell at 928-855-1171.
You may contact the reporter at jhanson@havasunews.com.
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