Jordan Burch had never been to a National Night Out before Tuesday.
When the 25-year-old Falls woman left, she had committed to taking the next civil service exam to become a Niagara Falls Police officer.
“I saw the community coming together,” Burch said. “Since I was young, I always wanted to be a cop. I think I have the personality for it.”
The cheer coordinator for Cataract Football, Burch was among a crowd of several hundred Falls residents who came out to Gill Creek Park for the annual community building program that looks to promote law enforcement and community partnerships to build safer neighborhoods.
“I can’t, by myself, give you a safe neighborhood,” Niagara County District Attorney Brian Seaman told the crowd. “The police department, on its own, can’t give you a safe neighborhood. The only way to have a safe community is for the people in the community to work with police and the district attorney to hold people accountable when they commit a crime.”
On a day when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that both violent and property crime rates in the United States dropped significantly in 2024, Falls Police Superintendent Nicholas Ligammari said that programs that involve residents as the eyes and ears of law enforcement in neighborhoods are critical to achieving those results.
“I think it makes all the difference,” Ligammari said. “With the community involvement, we have eyes and ears throughout the community to help us solve crimes and prevent crimes. It’s a great partnership. We can’t do this ourselves.”
And Burch said new young recruits to law enforcement, like herself, will help in building those community partnerships.
“The last couple of years, I looked into becoming a state trooper,” she said. “But I see the NFPD is a better fit for my life.”
The Night Out program is sponsored every year on the first Tuesday in August by a coalition of Niagara Falls block clubs. Falls Mayor Robert Restaino praised the clubs for their efforts to address issues in their neighborhoods.
“Tonight is an opportunity to get out and be with one another,” he said. “We recognize the importance of the block clubs to not rely on others, but to do their part in keeping neighborhoods clean and safe.”
Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti said Niagara Falls was one of three communities across Niagara County celebrating National Night Out. The others were Middleport and North Tonawanda.
“With partnerships and working together, we can make change,” the sheriff said. “All our (law enforcement) agencies work well together. Uniforms don’t matter when you need help.”