On Aug. 3, the Lawrence Police Dept. celebrated National Night Out by visiting neighborhoods and places around the city.
National Night Out is an annual nationwide campaign promoting community and police partnerships and building fellowship between the departments and the people they serve.
“Last year, we had this scheduled during the very heat of the pandemic, but we had to cancel it,” LPD Deputy Chief Curtis Bigsbee said. “Usually, we do this every year. We actually go out into our neighbors, out into the community and reach out to the ones who can’t reach out to us sometimes, especially at (the Village of Merici). It gives us the opportunity to reach out to our community and touch base with them to learn more about what’s going on and bridge the gap between the community and the police department.”
The Village of Merici, 5707 Lawton Loop E. Dr, was one of 16 different locations around the city that LPD officers, who split into two groups, visited.
“We get a lot of positive feedback. (Residents) like to see us come out into the community,” Bigsbee said. “We get to hear some of the concerns that they might have. Maybe not even their concerns but also what concerns that their neighbors might have. We get a lot of positive feedback about what we are doing right, and sometimes we hear what we are doing wrong and how we can improve.”
