National Night Out returns to Marysville

National Night Out will return to Marysville on Aug. 3, allowing community members a chance to connect with and talk to local police officers.

The night will include a central event at Jennings Memorial Park from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., as well as events that individual neighborhoods set up for themselves.

“We are really excited to get out and do some public events again,” said Marysville Police Chief Erik Scairpon.

“While we have had the time to do some drive-thru events, we’re really glad to be able to get back to in-person. We’re really craving that direct contact,” he said.

The Jennings Memorial Park event will feature Marysville Police Department and Marysville Fire District staff who will be joined by other community organizations. The event will also offer hot dogs, Popsicles and vendor booths.

“This will be our first public crime prevention event [since the pandemic],” said Scairpon, and it will also be the first National Night Out for Scairpon since he joined the Marysville Police Department.

“Personally, I’m very much looking forward to it,” he said.

The event is meant to create more connections between community members and the local police department.

“For me, the best part is meeting our different community members, answering their questions and keeping them informed,” said Scairpon.

He said police officers are able to share what they are doing in the community and give personal feedback during the event.

“I love when we’re able to have these events where we can make a more positive connection to residents here,” said Scairpon.

Individual neighborhoods also typically organize their own events to get to know each other better, as well.

“When you know your neighbors it’s a good thing for the community,” said Scairpon, who added that it improves livability and safety for the neighborhood.

“One of the programs we support strongly is our neighborhood watch program,” he said. Information about creating a neighborhood watch will be available at the Jennings Memorial Park event as well.

Scairpon said the Marysville Police Department has five to six officers in the field usually and neighbors knowing when something is normal and when something is not helps the department.

“It really help us focus our resources where they need to be when neighbors know each other and they know what is normal in their neighborhood,” he said.

Getting to know your community members can also help in other situations.

“It helps neighbor rely on other people nearby in case of a disaster,” said Scairpon.

Communities that register their National Night Out event at marysvillewa.gov/933 can also sign-up for a visit from police officers to their events as well.