Crime & Safety
Township's National Night Out Best in State, Again
Gloucester Township placed first in its category and 19th overall nationwide for its huge National Night Out program.
For the second consecutive year, Gloucester Township's National Night Out program stands as one of the best in New Jersey—and a not-too-shabby 19th in the country.
The award was presented by Mayor David Mayer to the Gloucester Township Police Department at Monday night's Council meeting. Lt. Brendan Barton and Cpl. Sean Grannon, both from the police department's community relations bureau, were on hand to accept the award from the mayor.
“This presentation is a tribute to (Barton and Grannon), as well as to all of the Gloucester Township Police Department,” Mayer said.
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The township won first place in New Jersey for outstanding participation in National Night Out. The first place award was for communities that had population between 49,999 and 99,999.
Out of 15,325 communities nationwide who participated in National Night Out, Gloucester Township placed 19th overall across every category. Police Chief W. Harry Earle noted that this was an improvement over the township's 37th-place ranking in 2011. Earle encouraged residents who did not attend National Night Out events in 2012 to do so in 2013.
Find out what's happening in Gloucester Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
, according to Gloucester Township Police. Local businesses and sponsors, such as Target, Texas Roadhouse, Chick-fil-A and Bertucci’s, were involved in activities that included barbecues, outdoor parties, music and games.
Mayer said he hopes to see enough participation in 2013 to get Gloucester Township into the top-10 overall in the United States. This year, National Night Out will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
