Sarah Baer, University of Findlay journalism student recently researched three community approachesto National Night Out. Her story covers Bluffton, Findlay and McComb. The three stories are combined into one, which follows:

By Sarah Baer

Bluffton’s NNO is a positive aspect for the community
The 18-month-old German Shepherd is from Von der haus Gill German Shepherds Inc. of Wapakoneta, and is getting to know the community by making appearances in the schools.

Kato and his handler, Officer Tyler Hochstetler, have done demonstrations at the elementary school, middle school and high school where Kato finds drugs hidden by Hochstetler and the kids love it, stated Chief  Ryan Burkholder.

The community is to thank for allowing Kato to join the Bluffton Police force, according to Lt. Matt Oglesbee. As the community and businesses pledged and donated $19,000 for the cost of training and the equipment needed for the unit.

“Donation monies still continue to trickle in for the program,” stated Burkholder.

This project all began at the last National Night Out event where information was given to the community regarding the need for the K-9 unit.

“The purpose of the K-9 unit is to try to get drugs off the street and keep Bluffton clean,” stated Burkholder. “Kato is also capable to search for missing children and elderly. We are a community of numerous nursing homes and two schools. Kato will help locate them even in poor climate weather when minutes and hours are crucial in missing person cases.”

The National Night Out is an annual event which occurs on the first Tuesday in August across the Country and began in 1984 according to National Night Out website.

The goal for this event is for local law enforcement agencies to interact with their community members in a positive, fun environment while educating them on personal and community safety.

“I believe this event has had such a positive impact on the community that they were completely behind us starting the K-9 program and wanting to be involved with it to get it up and running,” said Oglesbee.

Bluffton’s Police Department believes in the community-policing philosophy and states so on the Village of Bluffton home web page in the Public Safety section.

As it states “Our officers took a community policing approach to how we conduct ourselves long before the term "Community Policing" was coined and used by the Department of Justice.”

Bluffton has been holding the annual National Night Out since 2014 in conjunction with the Pandora Police Department.

“My hope for starting the National Night Out was to reach the community, especially the children, and let them see the officers of our department in a positive light. This event brings police officers and the members of the community together in a fun setting and gives them (community members) the opportunity to get to know the officers and ask questions. It brings us to them, instead of them having to come to us,” said Oglesbee.

“The community fully supports the police department and this event. Everything provided at the National Night Out event is via donations from local businesses, organizations, and individuals. We receive monetary and in-kind donations to make this event possible and to date, no tax-payer money has been used to make purchases,” stated Ogelsbee.

“Seeing the community get behind the K-9 unit shows that we are getting the word out to them that we want to keep the community safe and the National Night Event helps us communicate these important messages,” stated Oglesbee.

One important message at last year’s National Night Out was about the increase in drugs and how a K-9 unit can help keep our community be safer.

Safety is key for Bluffton’s Community and they have the annual statistics to show for it. According to areavibes, which uses the FBI’s uniform crime reports collected in 2016, Bluffton is safer than 72 percent of the cities in the United States.

“I can say that with our passion for Community Policing, and as a result of National Night Out, we have had a lot better community response from folks that are more comfortable approaching us or calling us when they see something that they feel may be out of the ordinary,” stated Oglesbee. “I know sometimes it can sound cliché, but the old mantra of See Something, Say Something is definitely a phrase that I like our community to live by.”

“I would recommend the National Night Out event to each and every police department. If it's a larger community, run with it. If it's a smaller community, pull together with neighboring communities and put an event together. The more you can get out with the members of your community and interact with them in positive manner, the more they are willing to come to and approach you with comments, concerns, and information,” stated Oglesbee.

How Findlay’s Police Department has inspired this philosophy for others
Findlay’s annual National Night Out has inspired other departments to up their game with community relations as they have seen the success of Findlay’s event and now host their own.

Findlay’s Police Department decided to get involved in the event 10 years ago “to help police/community relations and bring about an awareness of law enforcement programs in the community,” said Officer Brian White of the Findlay Police Department.

“Initially it was officers and their cars showing young people what we do with our equipment,” said White. “For the past two years though we've had mascot games for the kids, bounce houses, food, entertainment and have several community organizations present to provide information on what they do. A big attraction is our K-9 demo, and vehicle extrication demo.”

Not only has this event inspired Findlay’s community to attend but has allowed smaller departments and their communities to come and share in the fun, knowledge and to get to know their local officers on a personal level.

“What people don’t often think about is that we are ordinary people with families who like to have fun and interact with kids, the same as anyone else. So, this gives us the opportunity to show that side,” said White.

Police Departments like McComb and Bluffton first attended Findlay’s National Night Out event for years before starting their own National Night Out in their home town.

“We liked the interaction with the public and the ability to answer questions or explain our jobs to the public. But what we did find is that only a hand full of our community members made it to the Findlay event. So, when I took over as Police Chief we went to a few more of Findlay’s National Night Out event and then decide to host our own in McComb so more of our community members would attend,” Stated McComb Police Chief Gregory Smith.

“I used to go to Findlay each August for National Night Out as their police department would invite departments from the surrounding area to take part in their event. As I attended this for a few years, I saw the positive reaction that I/we received from those in attendance and thought we could do this for the Bluffton community,” stated Lt. Matt Oglesbee from the Bluffton Police Department.

Even though the National Night Out event is a fun night for all, it does have a mission to:
• Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness,
• Generate support for local anti-crime programs,
• Promote neighborhood pride and police-community partnerships, and
• Send a message to criminals that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Each department fulfills these goals in various ways, through various supporting agencies that attend.

In Findlay, White explains how they accomplish the National Night Outs goals as he states that crime and drug awareness is accomplished through the community organizations (such as Crime Stoppers) who are present at the event. Also, Findlay Police Department participates in Neighborhood Watch (Block Watch).

This program strives to bring community members together and instill neighborhood pride. Block Watch is one of the community groups typically present at this event.

“National Night Out began as a symbolic gesture to criminals that neighborhoods were fighting back, which is why neighborhoods are encouraged to leave a light on. This again serves as a symbolic message for this purpose, however the presence of numerous law enforcement agencies and the public together further strengthens our message to criminals,” White added.

Findlay’s success of community crime awareness and prevention is working. White stated, “Community members are an extension of our eyes and ears and provide us with valuable information to help combat crime.”

As Ohio exceeds the nation’s averages of crime in categories of property crimes, larceny/theft, burglary, and robbery according to city rating, Findlay has decreased these crimes in 2017 per their annual report.

The community has taking action in Findlay neighborhoods, as the calls of service have increased this year by 1,813. The number of calls for service for 2017 totaled 33,883 while in 2016 the total was 32,070.

Part of National Night Out and the philosophy of community-policing is getting the public to trust officers and making them feel comfortable calling on them for any questions or concerns.

Findlay Police Officer Charles King stated that the most frequent calls of service by neighborhood watch that do not generate a report are “suspicious person” calls. “These calls are the ones that officers are dispatched to the most. One or two officers will be sent to the area looking for somebody who looks out of place for the neighborhood for that time of day,” stated King.

Neighborhood Watch groups keep increasing in the Findlay area, as White stated they add approximately five block watch groups to the program each year.

The Findlay Police Department relies on its community and promotes to other departments the importance of community policing.

“Policing for the 21st Century is dependent on police/community relations,” stated White. “Without the community our job is infinitely more difficult. National Night Out is one avenue that agencies can utilize to further develop this relationship.”

National Night Out inspirers McComb Police Chief to expand community-policing programs
McComb Police Chief Gregory Smith is inspired to implement a Neighborhood Watch program as a result of the success of the National Night Out events and community support.

In 2001 members of the McComb Police Department first participated in the National Night Out event in Findlay along with other local police departments in the area.

“We liked the interaction with the public and the ability to answer questions or explain our jobs to the public,” stated Smith. “But what we did find is that only a hand full of our community members made it to the Findlay event. So, when I took over as Police Chief we went to a few more and then decide to host our own National Night Out event in McComb so more of our community members would attend.”

Although the National Night Out event is full of games, food, entertainment and fun, it does have a mission to fulfill with its community members. The event seeks to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support for local anti-crime programs, promote neighborhood pride and police-community partnerships, and send a message to criminals that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back, according to the National Night Out website.

For McComb, the National Night Out goals are their goals as well. As Chief Smith stressed his need to educate the citizens is key in order to be proactive against crime.

“It is my ultimate goal to work with the people of our community and to help educate them, stated Smith. “First step is to host our own National Night Out event, and now building on this success, I am in the process of starting a Neighborhood Watch Program as it gives the community a chance to speak to us in person.”

Chief Smith also stresses this goal on the police department’s letter head. The letterhead states, “The McComb Police Department is committed to providing a safe community by controlling crime through prevention, education, and enforcement of the law.”

McComb Mayor Charles Latta also agrees with Smith stating that the biggest success that comes out of the National Night Out events is relationships.
 

“Even though we are a small community, and everybody knows everybody, it is nice to personally get to know the people behind the uniforms and interact with them in party games and fun events,” stated Latta.

The relationships that are created through the National Night Out event is the foundation of future programs, such as the Neighborhood Watch for McComb. Communication from our residents is how we are going to keep our community safe states Smith.

“Over the past years our call volume has fluctuated between 1,300 and 1,500 calls for service. I believe this is a reflection of how our community feels comfortable calling us,” stated Smith.

The majority of calls that the McComb Police Department have seen lately revolve around drugs and money according to Smith. Smith explains that drugs cause people to do bad things as they steal, fight, rob or break into places because of their habit or to feed their habit.

In 2017, Hancock County has seen an increase in drug arrests by METRICH, a task force which includes the counties of Hancock, Ashland, Crawford, Knox, Huron, Marion, Morrow, Richland, Seneca and Wyandot. According to their annual report, heroin is the prevalent drug on the streets resulting in a 102 percent increase from 2016.

With drugs on the rise, McComb’s Chief is determined more than ever to get the Neighborhood Watch program going.

Not only does neighborhood watch allow citizens to help in fighting crime, by being another set of eyes and ears on the streets, but it is an opportunity for communities to organize and send a message that they are fighting back, which is one of the goals of McComb’s Chief.

“We try to send the message that we are a proactive agency and community, and that we will work our hardest to keep McComb a safe and wonderful place to live and raise a family,” stated Smith.