IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – Kids crawled through police cruisers, jumped on motorcycles, explored a Bear Cat, and learned about tasers at the Idaho Falls Police Department’s National Night Out celebration Tuesday at Tautphaus Park.
The event offered kids and adults an opportunity to meet and interact with the men and women putting their lives on the line every day to serve and defend our community.
“When policing was first invented, they were on foot. They walked the neighborhood. They knew everybody. They knew their kids. They knew their lives. They knew their struggles, and it was community policing,” said Idaho Falls Police Chief Bryce Johnson. “That’s what we’re striving to be more like, so that there’s a more intimate relationship, because that allows us to get the bad people and put them in jail and serve the the folks of Idaho Falls, make it safe and make a positive difference.”
Members of the community were able to interact with officers, tour vehicles, watch a drone, and check out special police equipment like the Bomb Squad’s robot.
They also came face to face with Skadi, the department’s highly-trained, bomb-sniffing dog.
Officers from patrol, the bomb squad, dispatch, Crime Scene Investigators and SWAT team were on hand to answer questions and have fun with the community.
“We’ve got K9s – so bomb-sniffing, drug-sniffing dogs, apprehension dogs – drones, motorcycles, fingerprinting, even drinks and hot dogs,” said Deputy Chief Jeremy Galbreaith.
Idaho Falls Mayor Lisa Burtenshaw issued a proclamation declaring Tuesday “Idaho Falls Community Policing and National Night Out Day.”
“The one word for community policing to always hold onto is trust, because it’s about building the trust between the police and citizens,” said Idaho Falls City Council President Jim Francis. “When they trust each other, it’s a proactive way of preventing crime, and that’s the most important thing to get to.”
The city is divided into four beats, he explained, allowing officers to build relationships with local residents, and come to know the region and organizations that operate there.
“When the public has a concern or they know something’s going on that can be headed off before it gets bad, then they go to somebody they trust,” Francis said. “They know, because it’s an officer who’s there on a regular basis and often you can head it off before it becomes a serious problem.”
National Night Out is all about building those relationships of trust. The event is held the first Tuesday of every August.
The celebration provides an excellent opportunity to thank those in police uniforms who keep us safe and serve with honor, courage, integrity, trust and excellence every day.
“To enforce the law, you have to be courteous and also educate the public on what it is that the law is all about,” Galbreaith said. “So it’s a partnership more than anything else.”
