By Elizabeth Greenberg | NB Indy
Dozens of Newport Beach Police officers and detectives swarmed the parking lot at Bonita Canyon Sports Park on Tuesday afternoon, but instead of serious police work, the officers mingled with hundreds of community members for serious fun at the 31st annual National Night Out.
The event included hamburgers and hot dogs cooked by the Newport Beach Fire Department, pizza from Fresh Brothers Pizza, activities for kids, and myriad booths with information on the various aspects of the NBPD.
The public could approach officers and ask questions in a friendly, more casual atmosphere than the police station.
“It’s just a really great way to bring the community in a closer relationship with our police department to celebrate the safe, wonderful community we have in 
Newport Beach,” said Jennifer Manzella, the NBPD press information officer. “It kind of breaks down a barrier for [the public] in a lot of ways.”
Officer Shawn Dugan was there to let the public see and pet his horse, Levi. They are one of the mounted police units that occasionally patrol Fashion Island or the peninsula as needed.
Newport’s seldom-used SWAT team was on hand to let kids handle their vests and other apparatus, while motorcycle officers let children sit on the motorcycles.
Newport Beach K9 officers and their dogs were at a booth next to VestADogOC, an organization dedicated to providing bullet and stab proof vests for police dogs around Orange County.
Founded by Corona Del Mar High School student Jennifer Conde, VestADogOC has already provided vests for Jardo and Elko, the Newport Beach Police K9s.
“It’s a good cause—we’ve been supporters from the very beginning,” K9 officer Michael Fletcher said as his friendly dog Jardo interacted with eager children.
“Tonight was a great way to make people more aware of VestADog and what we do,” said Emma Sung, a high school student involved with the organization. “A lot of people think dogs automatically have a vest, but we actually raise money to buy them. They are very expensive, but they do a great job in keeping our K9s safe.”
The event also provided activities for kids, such as crime prevention arts and crafts. Children could create a sun catcher at one of the booths with a little message to remind their parents or grandparents to lock the doors at night. Simple projects like these subliminally teach children lessons in safety and crime prevention, as well as acclimating them to crime education.
“It’s important for our young kids to be able to see and touch and feel police things so they’re not afraid of them,” said Mayor Rush Hill, who attended the event.
Newport Beach is a very safe city, with crime rates this year the lowest in history.
“What I’ve been telling the public when I go to the meetings is it’s because you are listening to what we said, you are securing your valuables or you’re calling us when you see
something out of place. Last year our officers made incredible arrests. So I think together it’s working the way it should. The public is responding the way they should, we’re responding the way we should, and numbers are down,” said Officer Andy Querry, crime prevention specialist.
Officer Querry, the mastermind of the National Night Out’s success, implemented a new way to get the public to interact more with the police at the event. By getting a stamp from each booth, people entered a drawing to win a police car ride to school or a ride with a police officer. This ensured that people would hear all the different messages, from swat team to animal control.
The main goal of the night out was to strengthen the already positive relationship the Newport Beach community has with its police force.
“It’s building that relationship with the community and educating the community on our concerns, and them educating us on their concerns, because ultimately we work for you guys,” Police Chief Jay Johnson said. “Working together we address the problems and we’re very successful doing that as a team, and that’s why we’re seeing the crime numbers that we’re seeing now, the lowest in history.”
Crime rates are low due in part to the outstanding neighborhood watch programs we have in our community, noted Mayor Hill. He wants to keep this sterling performance up to help keep the city safe.
“It’s really important now because of all the early releases,” Mayor Hill said, “People are getting out of jails and prisons early,” and a large percentage go out and commit another crime. “Newport is a delightful area for them to come into.”
Overall, the National Night Out event was an outright success for the Police Department and for the community.
For more information, visit NATW.org.
