Seen - The NIH Record -August 22, 2008

Police, Fire Department Host ‘NIH Day Out for Safety’
Photos: Carla Garnett

To mark the 25th anniversary of the crime prevention campaign National Night Out, NIH Police and the NIH Fire Department held their own version of the event in front of Bldg. 1 during daytime hours on Aug. 5. Joining a number of law enforcement agencies and public safety organizations that serve NIH and its neighbors, the goal of “NIH Day Out for Safety” was to educate communities about ways to stay safe.

“America’s Night Out Against Crime” was introduced in 1984 by the National Association of Town Watch, a nonprofit, crime prevention organization. By last year, the number of participants had grown to “35.4 million people in 11,310 communities in all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases worldwide,” NATW says.

NIH’s event incorporated demonstrations by the fire department and several police K-9 units. In addition, an NIH shuttle bus provided transportation to and from the Gateway Center for guided tours of the campus’s newest visitor facility, which opens Aug. 23. According to NIH Community Policing Coordinator John Ritch, approximately 250 people attended Day Out, in addition to 80 representatives from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, 3 local public health and safety organizations and 14 NIH components.

David Leung (above, third from l) calls out bingo letters and numbers at the Camp Fantastic BBQ on June 17.

NIH’s Community Policing Office and local radio station MIX 107.3 were among exhibitors offering giveaway items during the 2008 NIH Day Out for Safety on Aug. 5.

Staff from the Hard Times Café serve food to a crowd that gathered on a beautiful spring day.

There was plenty of good cheer evident in the picnickers, who have supported Camp Fantastic for decades.

Clockwise from above:
Metro Transit Police K-9 handler Officer R. Wozniak and Rocky give a demonstration on explosives detection.

On hand from ORS’s Division of Radiation Safety are Eric Munger (l) and Drew Cabot, both health physicists.

NIH Fire Marshal J. P. McCabe (l) of the Office of Research Services along with Assistant Fire Marshals Mike Garner (c) and David Jobes staff a display table.

Other federal and local law enforcement groups such as the Pentagon and Rockville City Police departments as well as the NIH Blood Bank and Safe Kids Buckle Up join forces for the day.