Night Out Against Crime, Public Safety Cruise Night Tonight

Although National Night Out Against Crime is held on Aug. 7 this year, the Barrington Police Department is doing something a little bit different.

Barrington’s Night Out Against Crime will be held Aug. 2 and will be combined with the Public Safety Cruise Night. Police Department Executive Assistant Jennifer Herzfeldt said the decision to combine the two events is something new this year.

“We weren’t reaching the right crowd doing it at ,” Herzfeldt said. “Cruise Nights are such a family oriented event, there’s kids of all ages there. Last year, Night Out was cut short because of the weather. We took what was left and brought it to Public Safety Cruise Night.”

This year’s event has a lot to offer everyone in attendance. There will be several agencies showing off vehicles including motorcycles from Barrington Hills Police Department, and police vehicles from Canadian National Railway. One of the highlights of the event will be the trackless train car that will be on display.

“We’re hoping to provide kids with education in a fun way…riding around through the Cruise Night area,” Herzfeldt said.

In addition to checking out police vehicles, those in attendance will also be able to try the distracted driving simulation with the Illinois State Police. They will be bringing out their DUI goggles for people to test out while driving golf carts.

“We’re providing people with good education and simulation experiences to hopefully give them some good sense to walk away with,” Herzfeldt said.

It’s not just driving safety that will be taught at the combined Night Out/Public Safety Cruise Night. has decided to come on board to offer free bike and helmet safety checks, teach the rules of the road and help with free bike registrations. There will be bike racks for people to use who want to cycle to the event.

Kids can learn from the in the fire safety house, and have their digital fingerprints taken by Klaas Kids. The dog show will take place at 6:45 and will feature Max the police canine from the Wauconda Police Department.

“We’re limited in space, but we’re so excited. We’re going to bring great safety and educational items to the public,” Herzfeldt said.

Barrington’s Night Out Against Crime and the Public Safety Cruise Night will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 2 in the Harris Bank parking lot, 201 S. Grove Avenue. 

To learn more about National Night Out Against Crime, head to http://www.natw.org/nno/