National Night Out 2008 Teams Neighbors With Police to Fight Crime

Neighbors team up with police to send a strong message about crime for the 25 annual National Night Out.

Eighteen Chattanooga Neighborhoods took part this year.

 Tara Hewlett, "We have food and we have prizes we have school supplies."

Empty lots like the one across the street are among the sights neighbors here don't want to see.

Hewlett, "We also want to rid the blight of the vacant houses and duplexes because that houses a lot of negative activity." Sgt. Jeffery Gaines, "Youth not having a whole lot to do just hanging out as always drug activity gang activity. "

That's why Churchville partners with police officers like Sergeant Jeffery Gaines.

Sgt. Gaines, "They're our eyes and ears so without them we can't do our job effectively so it's team work. We need them as much as they need us."

National Night also aims to educate neighbors about crime and drug prevention, drum up support for local anti-crime programs and send a strong message.

 Hewlett, " To tell the citizens that are participating in illegal activities that we are taking our neighborhoods back."

There's a different message at this year's host neighborhood, East Brainerd's Molly's Meadow.

 Linda Matthews, "We have a very culturally diverse neighborhood. We have a lot of ethnicities within our neighborhood and we're a very close knit community."

With little crime and no blight, National Night Out is about keeping it that way.

Matthew's "For the neighbors to meet one another and get to know one another and to keep continually looking out for one another and their homes and let everybody know if something is going on."

35 million people in 11 thousand neighborhoods participated in National Night Out last year.