Kent crime-prevention program gains national recognition

NgocDzung Smith and her husband

NgocDzung Smith and her husband

National Night Out continues to be a hit with Kent residents and city employees.

Kent ranked third nationally in 2008 for its participation Aug. 5 in the 25th annual National Night Out to combat crime.

City officials learned that Kent rated third in the nation among the 294 cities that participated with a population of 50,000 to 99,999. Kent has about 86,000 residents.

“We’re excited,” said Sara Wood, a Kent Police public education specialist and coordinator of National Night Out, in a phone interview Thursday. “We’ve been doing this 25 years and this is the highest ranking we’ve ever had.”

Kent continues to climb the rankings. The city ranked fifth in 2007, the first time the city cracked the top five. Kent has ranked in the top 10 eight consecutive years.

Cities are ranked on their overall campaign, neighborhood participants, law enforcement involvement and other categories to determine the national rankings out of hundreds of entries.

An estimated 8,500 Kent residents participated in National Night Out events. That’s 10 percent of the city’s population.

“We were able to grow our participation and that’s a big factor in the ranking,” Wood said.

More than 100 city employees from police, fire and other departments visited 75 neighborhood events to help thank residents for working with the city to prevent crime.

The Kent Target store sponsored the local National Night Out and had 20 store employees participate in the event.

National Night Out is a nationwide campaign focused to help neighbors get to know each other better and to be aware of potential criminal activity.

Neighbors threw potlucks, barbecues, ice cream socials and other events to draw residents together the evening of Aug. 5.

The annual gatherings often kick-start neighborhood watch programs.

“Neighborhood crime prevention is the goal of National Night Out and the Neighborhood Watch programs,” said Police Chief Steve Strachan. “This National Night Out award was through the combined efforts of the city staff, Target employees and many citizens. They are the real recipients of this award.”

The two cities rated ahead of Kent were Suffolk, Va., and Richardson, Texas. Both cities also were rated higher than Kent in 2007. Forty-eight cities were ranked in the 50,000 to 99,999 population category.

Kent set its own record as 75 neighborhoods participated in the program last August, compared to 70 in 2007 and 58 in 2006. Nearly 4,400 people were involved in neighborhood gatherings in 2007 and 3,700 in 2006.

National Night Out will be on Aug. 4 in 2009.

“Our goal next year is to just keep moving up,” Wood said of the national rankings.


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in News

Courtesy File Photo, WSDOT
Section of State Route 167 in Kent to be fully closed night of April 24

From 10 p.m. Thursday, April 24 to 4 a.m. Friday, April 25 between S. 180th Street and S. 212th Street

t
Kent man wanted in DV incident reportedly ‘has left the area’

Avon Cobb still on the run; flashbang device might have caused fire at Auburn business where he fled

Courtesy Photo, Comcast
Some Comcast, Xfinity Business customers lose service in Kent

Vandals damage cable line; service expected to be restored by 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 22

The city of Kent Corrections Facility, 1230 Central Ave. S. COURTESY PHOTO, City of Kent
Female inmate, 45, dies while in custody at city of Kent jail

Found unresponsive Tuesday morning, April 22

t
Kent male pedestrian, 45, struck and killed by vehicle

Man was crossing Monday night, April 21 in the 900 block of Central Avenue South

t
WSDOT plans nighttime lane closures in Kent on I-5, SR 516

April 21-27: Northbound I-5, certain directions of SR 516

t
Kent Police to host prescription drug take back day

Drop off medicines from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m Saturday, April 26 outside of Kent Police Department

t
33rd Legislative District sets Telephone Town Hall for April 29

District includes part of Kent; call hosted by Sen. Orwall and State Reps. Gregerson and Obras

Kent Police officers will carry the latest Taser 10 model produced by Axon Enterprises. The gun can fire more shots and at a longer distance than the older model. COURTESY PHOTO, Axon Enterprises
Kent Police add latest Taser model to officers’ equipment

Taser 10 can shoot more shots at a longer distance; department also adds dash cameras

t
Kent crime numbers drop dramatically in first quarter of 2025

All categories down compared to first three months of 2024; commercial burglaries drop 62%

t
Kent Police arrest man in stolen vehicle after short pursuit

Seattle man, 36, taken into custody April 14 at apartment complex near Kent-Meridian High School

t
Kent church reaches $1 million milestone for assistance program

Kent United Methodist Shared Bread Program helps people pay rent, utilities