TEMPLE, Texas — People across Central Texas turned out for National Night Out (NNO) block parties Tuesday night.
NNO is an annual nationwide crime prevention campaign event designed to bring community members, law enforcement agencies and local officials together.
There were 23 different block parties in Temple.
Neighbors and police officers who attended the event in Temple's Historic District told 6 News that the partnerships between the community and law enforcement is important to them.
"Well it really makes me feel good about this because they want to get involved in their community, and they do a great job and doing that, and they really make us feel welcomed and all of the things they do," said Ashley Patton, a Temple resident.
"It's important for me because it gives me the opportunity to actually communicate with our citizens," said Marco Maldonado, an officer with Temple Police Department. "It's probably one of the best tools that we have at the police department to actually hear what they want, the needs that they have, and do something about it and it's not very often that we actually get to interact with the citizens.
Maldonado said the block parties across the city had excellent turnout and a lot of attendees expressed their gratitude for the Temple Police Department.
This year is the 38th year of NNO. 392 Texas cities participated in the years event, according to the campaign's website.
Thousands of communities across the U.S. celebrate NNO on the first Tuesday in August, but Texas and select areas celebrate on the first Tuesday in October.