Dogs are welcome at National Night Out events Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia.
And while their owners are enjoying the annual public safety and community-building block parties, the Alexandria Police Department hopes they will sign up for .
The program, which launched earlier this year, encourages dog owners to take note of what’s going on in their neighborhoods and report suspicious activity or non-emergency issues such as damaged streetlights to city officials.
“We want to kind of continue to expand upon that to ensure that our residents know, No. 1, that they have a say-so in how we police this community,” Alexandria Police Chief Tarrick McGuire told 草莓传媒. “Secondly, we want them to know that they can take the activity of walking a dog” and create a safer community.
People who sign up for the program are discouraged from intervening when they see something suspicious, but are urged to contact the appropriate city agencies.
“We’re absolutely not asking people to be the police, but what we are asking is people to be partners of the police,” McGuire said.
Caitlin Leach, president of the Del Ray Citizens Association, said the program is a natural fit for her neighborhood.
“Del Ray is a really walkable neighborhood with a strong sense of community and is very dog friendly, so we are happy to help raise awareness and have members of the community bring their dogs along,” she said
Dog walkers taking part in Del Rey’s National Night Out event, one of , will walk with McGuire at 6:30 p.m. They’ll meet at Pat Miller Neighborhood Square at 2311 Mount Vernon Ave.
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