Tonight residents across Arlington will participate in National Night Out (NNO), an annual tradition that has grown each year in the City. The nationwide event encourages residents to step outside the house and get to know their neighbors to strengthen crime prevention efforts.

This year's event includes 192 neighborhood parties that registered with the Arlington Police Department, says Officer Kimberly Fretwell, who expects thousands of residents to take part tonight and has the potential of setting a new City record for participants.

Officer Fretwell, Arlington's NNO coordinator, and her team began promoting the event back in June and thought outside the box to try to reach every City resident. APD leaned on other departments, such as the Fire Department and Animal Services, to help spread the word, as well as participated in several media interviews, including one with a local Vietnamese radio station.

Arlington police officers will visit as many of the registered parties as possible to celebrate community and police partnerships. It is an opportunity for residents to meet their beat officers and enjoy an evening with food, music and fellowship.

National Night Out is an opportunity to establish and strengthen crime prevention efforts. Some block parties are hosted by established community watch groups while others are developing relationships. Connecting with neighbors benefits the entire community and improves everyone's ability to look out for one another by being aware of what activity around your neighborhood is normal and what you should be suspicious of.

"It's so important to know your neighbor," Officer Fretwell said. "If you can't make it this year, we hope to see you next year."

Most neighborhood activities will begin around 6 p.m. and end as the sun sets.

For the past two years, Arlington has finished fifth in National Night Out standings for large cities with populations greater than 300,000, and is ranked the highest rank for the North Texas region.

For more details, visit APD's National Night Out page or keep up on Facebook.