July 27, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

A night to remember?

by Sue Dremann

Hoping to boost enrollment in its flagging Neighborhood Watch program, the Palo Alto Police Department is introducing National Night Out, a "get-to-know-your-neighbors" event with a crime-prevention theme. But the city may have a tough sell.

Nationwide, the event will involve more than 34 million people, organizers estimated. In Palo Alto, however, enthusiasm for the Aug. 2 celebration has thus far been mixed. Many residents said they feel safe in their neighborhoods and see no need to rally on National Night Out, which falls on a Tuesday.

Eight community groups, expecting 50 attendees each, have planned block parties. Susie Jones, Palo Alto Police community liaison, is hoping more will join at the last minute.

Those attending National Night Out will receive patrol-car pins with red and blue flashing lights. Members of PANDA -- the group of Palo Alto residents trained in emergency response -- will attend block parties throughout the city. The city's mayor, city attorney, and city manager will also make the rounds, and the fire department will arrive separately with their rigs, Jones said.

Some neighborhood leaders are greeting the Tuesday evening event with enthusiasm. Residents of Green Acres II, sandwiched between Juana Briones Elementary School and Gunn High School, plan to go all out, grilling hot dogs and playing pingpong with an estimated 75 guests, said resident Lorie Englhardt. The event has already provided Englhardt an opportunity to get to know more of her neighbors. She is planning the event with two women she had not met before.

Green Acres II residents have had recent cause to band together. There have been at least three recent burglaries in the area, according to Jones, prompting residents to approach her with a renewed interest in neighborhood policing.

But other residents see less need for vigilance in their neighborhoods. Don Nielson, president of the informal Greater Miranda homeowners' association near Alta Mesa Memorial Park, described his community as a "pocket neighborhood" where few outsiders venture. Crime is so scant in the community that neighbors decided to gather only as the need arises, he said. The neighborhood hosts one block party each year and won't be doing National Night Out, he said.

Midtown resident Greg Bell had planned a dessert gathering in Hoover Park for residents on Cowper Street, but interest in a Tuesday night event was mixed, he said. "We're going to opt for a time later in the summer when we can plan a weekend afternoon with food and more time to visit," he said.

The College Terrace Residents Association decided not to make the night an officially sponsored event -- most members of the board don't have the time to organize it, said Kathy Durham, the association's president. Impromptu get-togethers are expected to be held in the neighborhood's four parks, however, honoring the intention of National Night Out with discussions about the Neighborhood Watch program and security issues, she said.

But, Durham said, National Night Out is probably more popular "in big cities where there are real persistent security issues. Putting eyes on the street can eliminate crime such as drug dealers. Here, it's not the No. 1 issue," she said.

Participation in Neighborhood Watch, a program in which residents keep vigil over their blocks, has dropped precipitously in recent years. In 1989, there were 1,500 Neighborhood Watch leaders and captains; now that number stands at under 400, Jones said.

Jones attributes the reduction in interest to busy lifestyles and a sense among many residents that their neighborhoods are safe and no longer need regular citizen policing, a sentiment echoed by several neighborhood leaders. But crime still does happen in Palo Alto, and there has been an upswing in recent months, according to Jones. A recent spate of crimes ranging from auto vandalism to residential burglaries generated calls to her office, she said.

National Night Out is Aug. 2 from 7 to 9 p.m. For more information on Palo Alto's National Night Out, visit www.papd.org or contact Susie Jones at (650) 329-2565 or susie.jones@cityofpaloalto.org.

Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be e-mailed at sdremann@paweekly.com.

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