National Night Out Returns Next Week

Each year, the residents of Easton join millions of people around the country to take part in the .

It's a nearly 30-year-old program that aims to fight crime by having people out and engaged in their neighborhoods, meeting with police and getting to know each other.

"If you know who belongs, you're going to know who doesn't belong," said Scott Reiman of Easton's Block Watch.

His group is one of the forces behind National Night Out (NNO) in the city. It returns to Easton next week with volunteers throwing block parties around the West Ward, South Side and College Hill Tuesday, Aug. 7.

This year's NNO comes following a few months of high profile violent crimes in Easton, including .

But Laura Accetta, who runs Easton's Weed & Seed program, said NNO would be just as important even if crime were down. She acknowledged, however, that it might be the type of thing to get people to come out if the neighborhood's recent violence -- in early July, a fatal shooting in late July -- had kept them inside.

Accetta said Weed & Seed will use the night to launch the Front Porch Project, which will educate residents on how to prevent child abuse in their neighborhoods.