UTAPD wins fifth consecutive National Night Out award
The University of Texas at Arlington Police Department was one of only five university police departments in the U.S. recognized for successful National Night Out efforts in 2017. This marks the fifth consecutive year UTAPD has been honored by the National Association of Town Watch, which sponsors National Night Out.
Now in its 34th year, the National Night Out campaign is a nationwide effort to promote police and community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. The event is held annually on the UTA campus the first Tuesday in October.
“National Night Out provides an opportunity for the community to interact with us in a way that is fun and informative,” said UTA Police Capt. Mike McCord. “With the help of our many partners, we are able to educate our community about a wide variety of public safety topics and increase awareness of UTAPD programs and services.”
Approximately 1,000 students, faculty, staff and community members attended the 2017 event, which featured interactive displays and informational booths from 50 organizations.
“National Night Out always has a positive impact, because it increases our ability to work collaboratively to make the UTA campus as safe as it can be,” McCord added.
The National Association of Town Watch also recognized Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill., Texas A&M University in College Station, The University of Texas at Dallas and The University of Texas at San Antonio. Additionally, the city of Arlington, home to UTA, won an award for its National Night Out events in the category of cities with more than 300,000 residents.
Earlier in 2017, Texas Governor Greg Abbott appointed UTA Police Chief Kim Lemaux to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
The department also rolled out enhanced crime fighting technology and a new student-focused safety program when the fall semester began.
In October, Police Officer Garry Douthitt received a lifesaving award for assisting a man who suffered a heart attack during an event on the UTA campus.
In August, four members of UTAPD deployed to Houston to provide support to The University of Texas Health Science Center during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
Always working to find new methods to keep the campus community safe and informed, UTAPD was recognized by the UT System as Pacesetter Police Department of the Year in 2016 for its use of innovative platforms to interact with students and the surrounding community.