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Plan for a Good Time and a Good-bye to Neighborhood Crime
25th Annual National Night Out is Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Our Block Club Coordinator is Kari Simonson who is available to help our block clubs organize for NNO (National Night Out). Contact her at: 331-2776. She can direct you to where you can get materials and ideas for a successfuly block party.
from CCP/SAFE: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/nno
The theme this year is "Building Community for 25 Years"
Message From Chief Dolan:
"Minneapolis again led the nation in NNO participation in 2007. We are now in our twenty-fifth year, and we have many reasons to celebrate.
"We should celebrate our success last year. We were tops in the country, and we had significant crime reductions last year that have continued through the first quarter this year. Major credit for these reductions belongs to our communities. Communities that are involved prevent crime because citizens are involved in their community safety.
"NNO is about building and celebrating community. It is about having that “pot luck” dinner with your neighbors. It is known fact that people who know their neighbors have less fear of their neighborhood. It is also true that residents who know their neighborhood kids by name have many fewer problems with their neighborhood youth. NNO reduces anonymity and fear of crime.
"I would ask that you again bring your neighbors together on NNO to make your block a safer place to live. It’s a time when your group can make the commitment to get to know each other, watch out for each other and call 911 when police are needed. My police officers can’t be everywhere. We depend on dedicated groups of residents to assist us every day."
Minneapolis National Night Out: Mission, Messages and Goals
Mission Statement
National Night Out in Minneapolis is an annual event that builds community, generates support for anti-crime programs and strengthens police/community relations through hundreds of block parties and other events held on the first Tuesday of August.
Background
National Night is not just one night of the year, but the culmination of yearlong crime prevention activity in all Minneapolis neighborhoods: people working together in block and apartment clubs and other networks to prevent and address neighborhood problems. It is an occasion to celebrate past successes, discuss current challenges or issues, and re-dedicate to collaborative efforts with neighbors, police, businesses and others to improve the quality of life in our city.
Key Messages
* Cohesive, healthy neighborhoods are key to preventing crime and violence
* Active block clubs build community, increase hope and create harmony
* Positive activities displace negative activity; as people spend more time outside, they take back their streets and neighborhoods
* National Night Out is an opportunity for all parts of the community including businesses, corporate sponsors, religious institutions, city agencies and news media to come together around the shared goal of a safe, healthy community
* NNO reinforces the partnership of citizens and police to combat crime
Goals
* To utilize NNO to expand & strengthen the Minneapolis network of block clubs.
* To increase the number of block and multi-block events which bring people together and to increase the total number of participants
* To increase awareness of the event and of its messages through extensive media coverage prior to and after the event, with special emphasis on reaching diverse communities.
* To involve the Minneapolis Police Department with citizens by participating in National Night Out events
* To promote increased involvement of youth with their neighbors.
* To promote crime prevention strategies and increase ways that citizens can protect themselves and their property (i.e., dusk to dawn lighting, McGruff Houses, and others)
* To involve rental property owners in sponsoring NNO events for their tenants and/or encourage tenants to participate in events on their block
* To increase involvement of corporations and small businesses in contributing to, sponsoring and promoting NNO activities
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