Law enforcement agencies serving Saratoga and other West Valley communities used National Night Out on Aug. 4 to focus on public involvement in local policing. The annual event brought uniformed officers and residents together at tables stocked with materials on emergency alerts and organizations that assist law enforcement.
National Night Out is a yearly campaign centered on crime prevention awareness, neighborhood connections and police-community relationships. Stanford University law professor David Sklansky described community policing as an approach in which officers work with the people they serve rather than apart from them.
He said the model began developing in the 1980s and remains in use in places ranging from Los Angeles to Los Gatos and Saratoga.
Sklansky said cooperation from residents can help officers do their work and can connect law enforcement priorities with local concerns. “Community policing, when it’s done right, allows the public to be involved in the project of figuring out where their community should be headed, and that can build the political capacity that’s helpful in attacking other problems as well,” Sklansky said.
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Chief Jamie Field said in an email that community policing is central to that department’s operations. Field pointed to Coffee with a Cop, the Therapy K9 program, Special Olympics participation, school partnerships and outreach events as ways the department seeks regular contact with residents.
Field also cited the Los Gatos Monte Sereno Police Foundation, which supports programs and events including National Night Out, police recognition events, swearing-in ceremonies, a Community Police Academy and Coffee with a Cop. She also identified civilian-supported groups connected to emergency response, police explorers and volunteers as part of the department’s local partnerships.