By Amy Schoenberger
Put together by the Council of East Meadow Community Organizations and the Nassau County Police Department's First Precinct, the evening was focused on enhancing police and community relations while educating parents and children on crime.
"Sixteen years ago, we decided it was time to form a neighborhood watch group," said Nassau County Legis. Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow), who has served as CEMCO's crime-watch program director since National Night Out began in 1984. "The crime level has diminished immensely since then, and that is because of a partnership between community and police," she said.
This year, Gonsalves was approached by the Nassau County Police Department and asked to put together the annual crime-prevention event before local children went back to school.
After the Boy Scouts of Troop 362 kicked off the event with the Pledge of Allegiance, First Precinct Inspector Richard McCarrick spoke about crime in East Meadow.
According to McCarrick, graffiti and criminal mischief are the biggest crime-related problems East Meadow now faces. Two weeks ago, the Herald reported on the spike in graffiti along East Meadow Avenue.
Since crime usually takes place during night hours, McCarrick urged families to never hesitate to call police if they see any suspicious behavior after dark, or anytime for that matter.
"We want to continue the tradition in Nassau County of police being oriented and keep the low crime rate," said Nassau County Police Commissioner James Lawrence, who was on hand at the event. "We are among the lowest in the nation, but to continue that, we must keep up the strong involvement in the community."
Stressing the importance of the role parents play in a child's life, police officer Ken Murray told the crowd that the parent is the child's first teacher.
The more involved parents are, the more effective their influence will be on their children, Murray said. "You should all be proud of the community you live in," Murray said. "There is a lot of involvement by both parents and community members."
Murray also covered in his discussion what children should do in certain compromising situations, such as if a stranger approaches. He said, if that happens, a child should "scream help, or 'you're not my mom, you're not my dad,' because that will get the attention of other parents."
Since school will soon be back in session, Gonsalves said safety is now an even more-important issue. She said she believed the two precincts that cover East Meadow do a wonderful job.
A candlelight vigil closed out the event. According to Gonsalves, this represented the fact that as long as there is light and it keeps shining, criminals will not take over the community.
Parents and children alike said they benefited from the evening's events.
"It's great anytime they do something to get the community more involved and get parents more aware," said Miriam Sereno, an East Meadow parent.
Her son, James, added, "I learned a lot of that in school," though he still found the program informative.
