The City of Renton will host a going away party for crime as part of their National Night Out festivities on Aug. 7.

The event will be part of the nationwide crime and drug prevention campaign for the 29th annual National Night Out (NNO) event.This year the city will offer food, safety games and party hoppers for kids from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at Heritage Park, 233 Union Ave. NE.

“This is a night for America to stand together to promote awareness, safety and neighborhood unity,” said Matt Peskin, national project coordinator in a press release. “National Night Out showcases the vital importance of police-community partnerships and citizen involvement in our fight to build a safer nation. On NNO, we invite neighborhoods nationwide to join us in Giving Crime & Drugs a Going Away Party.”

Renton police will be on hand at the event for community-building purposes.

“National Night Out is an excellent opportunity for the community to get to know our officers, and our officers to get to know the community,” said Renton Police Chief Kevin Milosevich. “The personal interactions we have during this event go a long way towards building trust between our department and the people who live and work in Renton. We encourage everybody to come out and join us for this event.”

NNO is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch and co-sponsored locally by the Renton Police Department. More than 15,325 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases around the world will take part in the event.

Locally, Renton residents are asked to lock their doors, turn on their outside lights and spend the evening with neighbors and police from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Aug. 7. NNO is designed to raise awareness about crime and drug prevention, generate support for and participation in local anticrime efforts.

For more information, contact Cyndie Parks at 425-430-7521 or by email, cparks@rentonwa.gov.