On Tuesday, August 6 communities around the nation and law enforcement come together to make neighborhoods safer.

All part of National Night Out.

This year in Covington, Police Chief Andrew McCurdy said most neighborhood events will run from 6 to 8 p.m.

He added many of the neighborhoods host a barbecue where either he, other police officers, council members and Kent Regional Fire Authority firefighters will attend.

The only exception is at Covington Place Senior Apartments where McCurdy said they will meet starting at 1 p.m.

Other participating neighborhoods in Covington are the:

Not only does National Night Out give community members the chance to interact with law enforcement but it gives neighbors the chance to meet one another.

“I think this event is a great opportunity for the public because it gets them outside meeting and interacting with their neighbors,” McCurdy said. “Too often in our society we don’t get to know our neighbors. This makes it hard to watch out for each other since we often don’t know who should/shouldn’t be there, when our neighbors are out of town, when they have medical problems and might need someone to keep an eye on them, or when they otherwise need support. Our neighbors watching out for us (and us for them) is the best crime deterrent available.”

McCurdy said he also believes National Night Out is a good opportunity for the public to ask questions of law enforcement.

“When people get frustrated with the police it is often because they don’t understand what we do, how we do it, or our capabilities and limitations,” he said.

He added, “with all the events going on across the nation right now involving law enforcement, and concerns about the public’s perception of our legitimacy, it is more important than ever for us to get out and get to know each other. If we wait until there is a crisis to get to know each other, it is too late.”

Black Diamond

Similar to Covington, several neighborhoods in Black Diamond will be involved in National Night Out this year.

Those neighborhoods include Diamond Glen, Morgan Creek and Cedarbrook Mobile Home Park.

Commander Brian Martinez said himself, Police Chief Jamey Kiblinger and another officer will be making their rounds to the various events.

Martinez said most events with begin at 7 p.m.

He added, Black Diamond Mayor Carol Benson will host an event beginning at 5:30 p.m.

At the time of this post, The Reporter did not know the location of the mayor’s event but will update this post when that information is known.

Martinez said the Black Diamond police enjoy interacting with the community. He added, they “participate in National Night Out as an avenue to make positive public safety contacts, heighten crime and drug prevention awareness and to generate support for participation in local anti-crime efforts.”

He said the department believes with community support, law enforcement is able to tackle public safety issues as a team.

Martinez echoed McCurdy’s sentiment about now being the best time to enteract with the public.

“With recent events and violence against law enforcement, there is no better time for us to reach out and continue our strong community bond with the common goal of making our community safe,” he said.

Maple Valley

According to the police department’s website, a number of community events will begin at 6 p.m. and various locations.

The Reporter reached out to the Maple Valley Police Department about where events in the city will be located but at the time of this post, we had not heard back. This post will be updated if we recieve more information regarding National Night Out events in Maple Valley.