Clayton News Daily

Jonesboro residents chat with each other at the city’s Battleground Park Monday night for Jonesboro Neighborhood Watch’s annual fall cookout. The event was designed to celebrate law enforcement and National Crime Prevention Week.

JONESBORO — More than two dozen Jonesboro residents gathered on a “battleground” Monday night to honor law enforcement officers.

Members of Jonesboro Neighborhood Watch spent the night chatting with their neighbors and police officers over hot dogs and burgers at the city’s Battleground Park during the group’s annual National Crime Prevention Week cookout. The event drew a mixture of residents, city police officers, Mayor Joy Day and members of the Jonesboro City Council.

“It’s a good opportunity to bring the community together to support the police department,” said neighborhood watch member Beverly Lester, who attended with her husband, Bobby.

“And, to raise awareness of neighborhood watch,” Bobby Lester added.

Jonesboro Neighborhood Watch is just one outlet where a city whose residents regularly profess appreciation for the city police can show their support for the officers.

According to the group’s Facebook page, it is a collection of “concerned citizens with a desire to learn and practice crime prevention.” It meets the third Monday of every month, at 6:30 p.m., at the Jonesboro Police Department Headquarters, located at 170 South Main St., in Jonesboro.

The group routinely hosts programs featuring law enforcement professionals, including police K-9 officers, city and county police chiefs and representatives of the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office.

“Jonesboro Neighborhood Watch does an outstanding job of bringing residents together for community events,” said City Councilwoman Pat Sebo. “They also provide a service to the city by holding educational opportunities for citizens, whether it’s gun control classes or CERT [Community Emergency Response Team] training.

“They are just a great group of people doing something good for the city.”

The group regularly posts updates about upcoming programs at www.facebook.com/CityOfJonesboroNeighborhoodWatch/.