BERKELEY – There was excitement in the air – as well as storm clouds – at the township’s National Night Out at Veterans Park.
The event is a way for the public to meet and greet township police and other emergency responders.
“This venue is different,” Police Chief Kevin Santucci said. It creates a way for the residents and the police to forge bonds at a stress-free event.
“It’s very rare for people to call police when something positive happens,” he said. Usually, their interactions with police are when there something wrong is happening. This takes the pressure off, letting people interact with first responders, seeing them as their neighbors. This kind of community policing is also the philosophy behind DARE and the Junior Police Academy.
Also in the air was a drone manned by the police. Six officers took Federal Aeronautics Administration tests to be licensed to fly them, Santucci said. A big screen displayed what the drone was transmitting.
They use the drones to find suspects or people who are lost, he said.
Residents got to check out first responder equipment and vehicles first hand. Santucci noted that a lot of the special technology is paid for either by grants or by selling items that were used in breaking the law (such as a drug dealer selling out of his car).
National Night Out, as the name implies, is held throughout the country, usually the first week in August. Berkeley often holds theirs on a different day, so as to not compete with other towns. It also lined up with the summer concerts.
Despite being an outside venue, the acoustics were amazing as two bands took the stage – the Chris Yoder Band and Suit and Mai Tai. People spread out with beach chairs and blankets, but the sound was clear on the fringes of the park.
This was where a number of community organizations had set up booths. If you wanted home services, or if you wanted to know more about how to get help with a specific issue, there was probably someone there who could guide the way.
As with the other concert nights, food was provided by nonprofits. They sold premade food, manned grills, and kept everyone cool with drinks. Families brought their kids over to inflatables set up in one corner.
A few drops could be felt as you walked around the tables. But if you mentioned that to someone, they silenced you in case you jinxed it. The nearby National Night Out for Lakehurst and Manchester was cut short due to weather.
