LEWISTON — Jana Dumont’s youngest son aspires to one day wear a badge and patrol his neighborhood looking for bad guys.

In fact, the Lewiston mother said her 4-year-old likes police officers so much that he often stops the men in blue no matter where he is to strike up a conversation.

So attending Tuesday’s National Night Out was like a dream come true for the little boy who made it a point to talk to as many police officers as possible at Marcotte Park.

“My littlest one wants to be a police officer,” Dumont said. “He’s going to be 5 on Monday and this was a chance for him to see them. A lot of kids don’t have a positive view of police, and this gives them a chance to see that they’re regular guys with families.”

Dumont watched as all three of her children danced with dozens of other children during the event. In addition to dancing, the event featured food, bounce houses, face painting, arts and crafts, Mr. Drew and the Animals Too, and several information tables from nonprofits.

“I like it. It’s a bunch of people having a good time,” said Dumont’s 9-year-old daughter, Savannah Leonard. “There’s dancing. There’s animals. There’s bouncing houses.”

Part of the 29th Annual National Night Out, local events were held Tuesday evening in both Lewiston and Auburn. Sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, the nationwide effort aimed to bring together more than 15,000 communities while heightening awareness and strengthening participation in local anti-crime efforts.

The event featured activities and entertainment from the Lewiston Police, Fire, Recreation and Public Works departments and numerous city nonprofit agencies. It was co-sponsored by Walmart, the Police Athletic League and L-A Harley-Davidson.

“It’s hugely important, especially with the sense of community,” said officer Bill Rousseau of the Lewiston Police Department. “With Operation Hot Spots going on, people are seeing a lot more of a law enforcement side. This brings it back and shows people we’re here for the community, too.”

It was the 10th year the Twin Cities have celebrated the event. For Lewiston, the chance to bring together the community on a positive note was especially timely, given the city’s summer push to crack down on violence and vice in Lewiston. Police in Lewiston have conducted weekly crime sweeps with assistance from several other local, county and state agencies.

Rousseau saw Tuesday’s event as an opportunity to focus on the positives of life in Lewiston.

“It takes the whole community,” Rousseau said. “Everybody has to get involved for something to happen. Everybody has to work together to make it happen.”

Rousseau said he compiled statistics from 2010 data released by the Maine Department of Public Safety in its most recent “Crime in Maine” report. Comparing the crime rates of the state’s top 10 largest cities, Lewiston ranked eight out of 10 — lower down the list than neighboring Auburn, which ranked 6, with a higher crime rate than Lewiston.

Some downtown residents who came out for Tuesday’s event were happy about the increased police presence in their neighborhood. Wesley Stover, 29, who lives on Blake Street, came out with his girlfriend, 27-year-old Kelly Coffin and her son. Both said they were pleased with the increased presence.

“I’d like to see the neighborhood get cleaned up so they don’t have to deal with all this stuff,” Stover said.

Coffin added, “I’m glad they’re doing it cause it’s getting people off the streets who are causing problems for everybody.”

ahannon@sunjournal.com

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