Communities Throughout Philadelphia Celebrate National Night Out
By Hadas Kuznits
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia is one of many cities across America that celebrated National Night Out on Tuesday.
Folks across the nation and throughout Philadelphia gathered to celebrate National Night Out, the goal of which is to bring police departments and their local communities together.
"Well, it is about partnerships and problem solving. It's about looking at some of the more chronic problems of crime and disorder; but it's also about just building relationships and coming up with joint solutions to not always involve the police. Sometimes it's city services, sometimes it's non-profits, sometimes it's just the community taking control of its own community," said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.
Commissioner Ramsey stopped by all 21 Philadelphia police districts for National Night Out. His first stop of the night was at Faith Temple Church on West Cumberland Street.
"And this is one of the larger turnouts in the city."
Commissioner Ramsey concedes while there are policing issues across the country:
"But I think tonight shows that's it's maybe not as broken as some folks think -- I mean, you didn't hear anybody booing when they said, 'Thank the police.' or introduced me or anything like that. I mean, people are positive, they're upbeat, we need each other. Neither of us can do it alone," said Commissioner Ramsey.
Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke says while some cities have strained relationships with their police departments:
"But in the city of Philadelphia we have a very strong and viable relationship," said Clarke.
National Night Out is an annual event that occurs the first Tuesday in August.
