TITLE
Recommendation to suspend Council rule contained in Long Beach Municipal Code Section 2.03.020(B) relating to the meeting schedule of the City Council in order to cancel the meeting of August 4, 2015, due to National Night Out.
DISCUSSION
National Night Out (NNO), America's Night Out Against Crime, is celebrated annually on the first Tuesday in August to promote involvement in crime prevention activities, police community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. For over thirty years, 38 million neighbors in more than 16,000 communities across the country have come together to host block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts and other various community events with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personnel and exhibits.
NNO is an opportunity for the Long Beach community to coalesce under positive circumstances and to strengthen the relationship between neighbors, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood organizations, local officials and law enforcement. NNO events are designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support for and participation in local anti-crime programs, strengthen neighborhood spirit, and send a message to criminals letting them know neighborhoods are organized and are fighting back.
Research demonstrates that in neighborhoods where residents know each other and look out for one another crime goes down. NNO has proven to be an effective, inexpensive and impactful program initiated by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW), which works with law enforcement officials and civilian leaders to keep crime watch volunteers informed, interested, involved and motivated.
NNO is a valuable way to bring neighbors together under a common umbrella and, moreover, allows the City of Long Beach to join forces with other communities across the nation in promoting cooperative, police-community relations and augmenting crime prevention strategies at the local level.
FISCAL IMPACT
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