Horsham to Hold National Night Out Event

The Horsham Township Police Department is throwing a crime-prevention and awareness party of sorts and is inviting the community to come eat, meet and ask questions.

Horsham Township’s National Night Out is slated for Tuesday evening at the municipal complex, 1025 Horsham Road in Horsham.

“Our officers will be floating around,” Horsham Police Lt. Jon Clark said. “We’re hoping people will come up to us and ask us questions. It’s mainly getting to know our residents.”

Besides Horsham Police, Clark said several other law enforcement agencies would be on hand, including Upper Moreland’s K-9 officer and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.

Horsham Fire Co. will have a “safe house” display to show kids how to safely escape a fire and how to establish a meeting place should they get separated from family during a fire.

“The more knowledge, the better,” Clark said.

Representatives of Hatboro-Horsham School District’s anti-drug initiative, Be A Part of the Conversation will be on hand as well.

For parents of kids ages 4 to 14, the children’s finger print and identification kit– which will be made during the event–are invaluable tools to help find missing children. Kids’ photos should be updated at least twice a year, Clark said.

“Kids change,” he said. “Their appearance changes.”

The free get-to-know-the-community event also features free hot dogs, popcorn and water.

New for this year, Clark said car enthusiasts are encouraged to exhibit their cars and motorcycles as part of the National Night Out car show. In all, the parking lot of the township building could hold 120 to 150 show-worthy cars, he said.

“These car shows have become very popular,” Clark said, adding that he hopes it will boost numbers to 500 from last year’s crowd of 250 to 300 people.

Dubbed “America’s Night Out Against Crime,” National Night Out first started in 1984. The effort now involves more than 37 million people and 15,000 communities in all 50 states, according to the National Association of Town Watch’s Web site.

The “Horsham Watch” team will be on hand Tuesday in case anyone is interested in joining, Clark said of the group that’s been a “great resource in being our eyes and ears.” 

If you go

Horsham’s National Night Out will be held on Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Horsham Municipal Complex, 1025 Horsham Road in Horsham. For more on the event, click here to see the event listing on Patch, or see the attached flyers.