At National Night Out event, Midlands residents take a stand against neighborhood crime

Midlands residents will be out in their neighborhoods Tuesday in a show of crime prevention for National Night Out – but before they do, some got an early start Sunday with the annual kick-off celebration in Columbia.

This is the ninth year city officials and the Columbia Police Department have hosted the event to get folks excited about National Night Out, said Lt. Ron Felder. The Sunday afternoon event gave citizens a chance to get to know Columbia police officers, Richland County deputies and neighborhood organizers.

West Columbia resident Rhonda Baumgardner, 32, said her neighborhood is pretty safe – and that National Night Out helps keep it that way. National Night Out takes place each year on the first Tuesday in August in thousands of neighborhoods across the United States, according to the program’s website. The goal is to reduce crime and build relationships between police and citizens.

“I definitely think it plays a huge role in keeping neighborhoods safe, especially for little kids,” Baumgardner said.

Baumgardner brought her 8-month-old daughter to Sunday’s event.

“I wanted to bring her out to see the police dog and the robot that they had, which was kind of neat – she was really intrigued by that,” Baumgardner said.

Cayce resident Benita Martin, 46, brought her son and two daughters to the event at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

“With everything that’s going on in our nation ... we really need to show that everybody’s unified and our communities are safe,” Martin said.

The afternoon included free food, live music and dance, giveaways and other entertainment. As citizens mingled, Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin reminded them that neighborhoods across the country take part in National Night Out.

“We’re doing this together,” Benjamin said. “We’re part of something much larger – the great United States of America.”