West Hempfield Township Police will be joining cities nationwide for “America’s Night Out Against Crime”. The police department will be hosting a kick-off event on Sunday, July 31, at the Mountville Borough Community Park between 5-8 p.m. Personnel and equipment from all of the emergency services will be on hand so that the public can have the opportunity to see their vehicles and equipment. Scheduled to be on hand are the police departments from West Hempfield Township, Columbia Borough, and East Hempfield Township along with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Unit. The Sheriff’s Department will also be giving demonstrations.
Other emergency services that will be in attendance include fire companies from Mountville Borough, West Hempfield, Susquehanna Valley Emergency Medical Services; Lancaster County Parks bike patrol; and Lancaster County Fireman’s Association smoke house."This will be a great opportunity for the public to come out and see what emergency services in our area have to offer.” stated Chief Mark Pugliese. “They will be able to go through vehicles, look at equipment and talk to all of the emergency responders. Last year was our first National Night Out event and thanks to the community as well as all of our emergency service providers it was a huge success. We are looking forward to this year’s event.
The police department will then be encouraging everyone to take part in America’s Night Out Against Crime which will be taking place on Tuesday, Aug. 2, which is when neighborhoods throughout West Hempfield Township and Mountville Borough are invited to join forces with thousands of communities nationwide for the 28th Annual National Night Out. National Night Out, which is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch and co-sponsored locally by the West Hempfield Township Police Department will involve over 15,000 communities from all 50 states, US territories, Canadian cities and military bases around the world. In all, over 37 million people are expected to participate. National Night Out is being supported in part by Target, a national corporate sponsor.
National Night Out is designed to: (1) Heighten Crime and drug prevention awareness; (2) Generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime efforts; (3) Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and (4) Send a message to criminals letting them know neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.
From 7 to 10 p.m. on Aug. 2, residents in neighborhoods throughout Mountville Borough, West Hempfield Township and across the nation, are asked to lock their doors, turn on outside lights and spend the evening outside with their neighbors
