By Alaina Denean  Deshazo | The Selma Times-Journal

The city of Selma and the Selma Police Department are asking the community to join them Oct. 13 from 6-9 p.m. at the Selma Amphitheater for a Crime Night Out to shine light on crime while also forming a relationship between citizens and law enforcement.

The original day for the event was Oct. 4 as part of the National Night Out, but the runoff election pushed it back for the city of Selma.

“The more people that we have that’s involved in trying to prevent crime, the less likely we’ll have a lot of crime in the neighborhood, so anything to help the community to help themselves,” said Lt. Natasha Fowlkes with the Selma Police Department. “There’s more eyes and ears in the community than there are in the Selma Police Department.”

Fowlkes said it’s important to get people involved and helping the police department.

“If we can rely on the residents and citizens in Selma to give us information on crimes that are being committed, we can solve crimes faster. We can make arrests,” Fowlkes said. “It helps us to do our job.”

Fowlkes said that the event also focuses on the law enforcement and the community working together to establish a positive relationship.

“[We want] to let them know that the Selma Police Department and the city of Selma are trying to do something to bring back the trust between the citizens of Selma and the police department,” she said. “With this event, we want them to feel comfortable and get that trust back with the community.”

The Selma Police Department and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department will be there along with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the District Attorney’s Office.

There will be performances by the Selma High School marching band, choir and cheerleaders and the Concordia College Alabama band.

Food and refreshments will be served, and there will be train rides, face painting, a dunking booth and more for the kids to enjoy.

“It’s very important for the community to bring the kids out to let them know hey, you can come to us when you can’t come to mom and dad,” Fowlkes said. “You should always feel comfortable in coming to the police and letting them know what’s going on if you have a problem.”