Nappanee Night Out Against Crime helps unite first responders with their community

NAPPANEE, Ind. -- Nappanee Night Out Against Crime will take place Sept. 9 from 6-8 PM. This event joins officers, EMS, fire and other organizations to highlight the community's first responders.

This year the event is teaming up with ‘Thingamabaubles’, a toy store in downtown Nappanee, to bring a Hot Wheel's theme to the event.

While supplies last, each child will get a Hot Wheel's car that they can race on tracks and play with other kids to compete for who has the fastest toy car.

The event will also have raffles, bounce houses, food, and more for visitors to enjoy.

Ahead of Nappanee Night Out Against Crime, ABC 57’s Sidney Moore sat down with Lieutenant Kris Hershberger from Nappanee Police who says there is no uptick in crime this is just an event to bring the community together and expose them to how first responders operate.

The event is held in September unlike many other National Night Out Against Crime events. This is so all the first responders will have an easier time attending this event, and Hershberger says the cooler weather is just an added perk.

Another perk is that kids and adults can investigate police cars. Hershberger says, “it's nice to have police cars set up for the kids to see in. They like to come take pictures of them. But the parents, you know, act like it's a big kid thing, but the parents want to know too. So, it's the parents want to see in. They want to know, you know, what we do, how we respond.”

The overall goal of this event is to get the community to know first responders to help work as an overall team to combat crime. Hershberger explains, “if they see something in their neighborhood, they're more likely to just be like, hey, when you're over in this area, we're having this problem. Or maybe they build rapport with an officer, find out what shift he or she works, and then can talk to them when they're on patrol.”