Police advisory board readies booths, prevention kits and kid-friendly activities for summer outreach

Board members agreed to staff booths at upcoming community events and discussed materials, volunteer coverage and engagement tactics.

Kristen (speaker S2), the police-department representative, described plans to hand out prevention/harm-reduction kits at outreach tables, saying the kits would include Narcan and test strips. Members discussed how many printed brochures to produce, who would fold them and how many volunteers would be needed for each shift.

For National Night Out (Aug. 4, 5–7 p.m.), members discussed setup times (vendors typically arrive 4–4:30 p.m.), that the event will include 40+ vendors and food (hot dogs) and that booths will generally receive two chairs and basic table space. They proposed simple, low-cost engagement ideas for families: coloring pages, a small activity or question prompts for parents that earn a lollipop, and a compact photo booth with props to encourage positive interactions with officers. Board members debated using a multicolored backdrop and discussed concerns that a rainbow backdrop might be read as a pride flag; members asked that the backdrop be broadly inclusive rather than explicitly political.

Attendance and printing estimates varied across the discussion: one participant referenced an attendance figure of 1,500 for a larger summit, while booth-distribution estimates for literature ranged from about 300 down to 500 for smaller events; the board elected to print a moderate run and reallocate extras to future events.

Members also agreed that being present at community events could help recruit new advisory-board members and that outreach practices should be refined year to year.