National Night Out in Bismarck | Video

Alex Hagan | 8/7/2012

The crime rate in North Dakota is going up right along with the population. While police obviously have more work to do, the rest of us need to step up our vigilance as well. National Night Out is a nationwide event designed to encourage neighborhood unity and teach people about the importance of law enforcement.

A fire squirt house, emergency vehicles, and some interactive events were just a few of the many displays at the event.

"Found out about it, so I figured, `Hey, come check it out, and I`m sure James would enjoy it,`" said Bismarck resident Austin Wolf.

But they also got the chance to learn a little bit.

"It`s really important to teach them about safety, and what the fire department, the police department, what everyone can do for us and how they keep our community safe," said Bismarck resident Lori Miller.

The night out encourages residents to work with local law enforcement to make communities a safer place to live.

"It`s just to raise awareness for safety, security throughout the city whether it be police relayed activities, fire related health activities, things like that," said Captain Robert Mehlhoff of the Bismarck Fire Department.

Law enforcement says educating the community is key to keeping crime down.

"It`s important to explain to the public that they can and they are basically the only way of preventing that crime from occuring and there`s a lot of different ways that we have been telling the public to do that," said Officer Pat Renz of the Bismarck Police Department.

And that means telling residents to take necessary precautions.

"Taking things out of their vehicles that they don`t want stolen, removing the valuables, parking in certain areas that they are going to be less apt to become a victim and have their vehicle broken into and that sort of thing," said Renz.

Parents say you can never be too young to learn about safety.

"I think it can be intimidating at a young age, the big fire trucks, the loud noises, so it`s important to teach them what they are here to do for us and how they help us out," said Miller.

The event included members from local police, sheriff, fire and rescue agencies along with the National Guard and Highway Patrol.

Rasmussen College hosted the event. This is the 26th time National Night Out has been held in Bismarck.

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