Carson residents to send message to criminal

Carson City residents will get a chance to send a message next Tuesday evening.

It goes something like this:

Burglars, druggies, vandals and other lowlifes, please be aware that we are no longer leaving the job of getting you off our streets just to the Sheriff's Department.

From now on, you're up against all of us. We're going to keep an eye on our neighborhoods. We're going to report suspicious activity. We're going to help figure out where the problems lie in Carson City and do what we can to fix them.

Carson City will be joining some 10,000 other communities in National Night Out, a program aimed at getting residents involved with their law-enforcement agencies.

It's a new thing for Carson City, but the program has been going for 20 years now. In Nevada, several other communities -- Reno, Las Vegas, Henderson, Yerington, Elko County among them -- also will be holding similar events.

From 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, there will be a get-together in Mills Park to help introduce Sheriff Kenny Furlong and his troops to the people they serve and protect. And those people can find out how they can help.

Citizen involvement is a breath of fresh air in Carson City. The first citizens' academy recently graduated. Volunteers are helping take simple reports. You'll probably even see them writing tickets to people parked illegally in handicapped zones. Won't that be a pleasant sight -- for everybody but the offender.

At the Carson-Tahoe Regional Medical Center groundbreaking a couple of weeks ago, Explorer cadets were helping direct traffic and park cars.

Carson City has its share of crime and always will, but it's far from out of control. The difference is whether people feel safe in their homes and have confidence in law enforcement.

Deputies can't be everywhere. But there's an awful lot of us who can contribute to a safer community. Start by showing up Tuesday night, or at least turning on a porch light to show your support.