Tonight, Texas celebrates the 29th National Night Out (NNO), an annual event to raise awareness of community policing strategies like neighborhood watch. (Most states hold National Night Out in August, but Texas celebrates the event in October so people can avoid the oppressive heat.) The NNO website notes that “[w]hile the traditional ‘lights on’ and front porch vigils remain a part of NNO, activities have expanded considerably over the years to include block parties, cookouts, parades, visits from police, festivals, neighborhood walks, safety fairs, contests, rallies and meetings.” Right On Crime regularly covers innovations in policing techniques, but it’s important to remember that proper policing always starts in the community. When Sir Robert Peel created the Metropolitan Police in London in 1829, he emphasized, above all, that “the police are the people and the people are the police.”