Bonney Lake other cities  across Pierce County and the state celebrated National Night Out Aug, 5. In Bonney Lake the event was at Allan Yorke Park.

The Bonney Lake Police Department and East Pierce Fire and Rescue organized the event, and provided vehicles like motorcycles, squad cars and a fire truck for children to climb in and explore.

An important reason for putting on the event was to get the community together in one place to get to know each other, according to Bonney Lake Police Officer Kristine Yanez, who helped organize the event. Another reason, she said, was to give the community a chance to talk to the local police department and city officials in a low-key setting to increase communication between the community and the police department. “The community is our eyes and ears,” said Yanez.“If they don’t tell us the problem, we can’t fix the problem.”

According to the Pierce County Crime Data website, the large majority of crimes in the city are property crimes, which includes theft, car theft, burglary and property damage. There were 331 reports of property crime in Bonney Lake from July 2013 through June 2014, compared to the 15 reports of assault and robbery.

Yanez said Bonney Lake residents can call the non-emergency line, 253-863-2218, or email officers if residents want to report a crime or call 911.