San Mateo National Night Out Expects Record-Breaking Turnout

Written by Brian De Los Santos

There is one main factor to the success the San Mateo Police Department has when trying to prevent local crime. 

The community.

It’s, really, the key to success for many law enforcement agencies around the county, which is why most of them have turned to National Night Out as a way to connect officials with residents.

That will be the case yet again this year for National Night Out in San Mateo, which takes place on Aug. 6 from 6:30-9 p.m. And with growing participation rates in recent years, Sgt. Dave Norris is expecting a record turnout this year, he said.

“When I took this position four years ago, we were doing 25-35 block parties,” 
Norris said. “Last year, we had 53, so we’re really expanding our numbers. We're up in the 30s right now with two weeks left, so we expect to have either a close to, or another, record breaking year in terms of block parties.”

Block parties are one of the main events of National Night Out. The night calls 
for residents to get out of their homes and connect with their neighbors, forcing 
community members to socialize and aiming to spur an atmosphere that will have residents looking out for each other when it comes to preventing crime.

“The block parties are groups of neighbors getting together to talk with each other, get familiar with the people who live in their neighborhood and show some unity in working with each other to partner with police departments to be good neighbors and report crime,” Norris said.

Police will be doing their part to connect with the community as well. The 
department’s command staff — its captains, deputy chief and chief of police — will be out roaming registered block parties, Norris said. Other officials from the parks and recreation and fire departments will be touring the area as well.

“There is a certain amount of hesitation sometimes between the community and 
the police, sometimes people are fearful of the police,” Norris said. “Community 
engagement breaks down those barriers, makes sure that the community 
understands that we’re there to help.”

That outreach has benefited the department in recent years, according to Norris. 

And with increasing rates of local property crime, police are hoping to get help from its community members to help suppress those numbers, Norris said.

“That’s been in the newspaper. That’s an area-wide issue, not just San Mateo,” 
Norris said. “The only way we can combat that as police agencies Bay Area-wide is be engaged and connected with our communities, and have our communities tell us when things are happening so that we can spot those trends as quickly as possible.”

Police are asking residents to turn on their porch lights for the two-and-a-half-hour span of the event, and are also asking residents to register their block parties with the city. They can do so by clicking here.

The registration deadline is Aug. 1.