National Night Out Enthusiasm Infectious

Gloucester Township Police Sgt. Brendan Barton smiled quite often Tuesday night.

He had reason to be happy.

The anti-crime National Night Out events he and Cpl. Sean Grannan coordinated across the township were well-attended and went off without a hitch.

Also, most of the people he encountered during his stops—kids, young adults, middle-aged parents, senior citizens—were smiling, too.

"I just think it's amazing how the community plays such a part putting it all together," Barton said. "It just shows how strong our township is and can be. ... I think the best message it sends out is we're all as one team."

National Night Out is all about showing the criminal element that residents and police are working together to make communities crime-free.

"It ties in the neighborhood watch programs. We have a pretty good, big neighborhood watch program," Council President Glen Bianchini said. "It gathers everybody. I think it's a great program."

Nancy Anderson led the effort to host a National Night Out event outside of Blackwood Fire Co.'s Central Avenue station for the second consecutive year.

"Just get to know your neighbors and watch out for everybody," she responded when asked what the most important message is about National Night Out.

Danielle Clark, of Erial, was doing just that Tuesday night when she came over to the Blackwood fire station for the anti-crime event.

"It's a great way to see and talk with people you haven't seen in awhile," she said. "It's also great to have something to bring the kids out that's not going to get them into trouble."

There were 24 organized National Night Out outings in Gloucester Township this year—so many, in fact, that three separate groups of police officers and elected officials fanned out across the township to make sure each outing got an official visit.

It's important for residents to get to know police, particularly for the township's elderly, according to Neil Manva, president of the residents' association at Franklin Square Village, a senior citizens' complex in Glendora.

Manva noted Franklin Square's residents get to know police officers' faces through events like National Night Out.

"It's very important to them. It makes them feel safe," he said.

Jim Holian, a Franklin Square resident for the last three years, feels safe here.

"I think we've got the greatest police force in New Jersey right here," he said. "I came from Philadelphia three years ago and I had no idea—I thought I was going to move to a town with six police cars. And when I saw the station here—top notch. The technology and all—better than I thought it was going to be."

As the police caravan pulled out of Franklin Square Tuesday night en route to its second stop, residents sitting outside and enjoying the nice summer night excitedly waved to the departing officers.

This year's marked the 28th annual National Night Out, which was founded by the National Association of Town Watch. Residents in communities across the world are asked to turn on their front-porch lights, lock their doors and head out to meet with neighbors in a show of solidarity for a few hours the first Tuesday every August.

National Night Out has been a big success in Gloucester Township for about a decade now, Police Chief W. Harry Earle said, noting the support the police department has received from other organizations, like Blackwood Fire Co., in recent years.

"With the policing model that we have, the community is such an imporant part in that we know that the community wants to be a partner with us," he said. "It's these types of nights, where we're out visiting each different area in the community. All of these stops tonight—that really shows that we're a partnership and working together."

It sure did appear that way Tuesday night.