We’re hoping to get a night where we can work together with the community and we break down the walls so they can see us outside the cruisers, up close and personal.”

Deputy Police Chief Brian Peters

PORTSMOUTH — Residents are invited to come out and get to know their police officers a little better — and have some fun to boot — during “National Night Out” on Tuesday, Aug. 2.

The event is being hosted by the Police Department in cooperation with the Recreation Department.

Deputy Police Chief Brian Peters said the program is an expanded version of what the police have offered in past years.

“We’d go around giving ice cream to the kids throughout the community. That was a success, so this year we teamed up with the recreation department,” he said. “We’re hoping to get a night where we can work together with the community and we break down the walls so they can see us outside the cruisers, up close and personal.”

“It’s a great night for Portsmouth families to come out and speak with police and to the Recreation Department about new programs, as well as about the new police station,” added Tim Dunbar, the town’s recreation director.

Portsmouth voters will be asked in November to approve a $10 million bond issue to build a new, 20,000-square-foot, two-story police complex to replace the current station, which the department says the town has long outgrown.

The fun begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Sandy Point Beach. The Recreation Department will be on hand with complimentary food and refreshments such as pizza, chips and ice cream. There will also be games for the kids and some raffles for the adults, featuring donated prizes.

“For the last hour and half a we’re going to feature the new Disney movie ‘Zootopia,’ which the Police Department got the rights to show,” said Mr. Dunbar. The screening begins at 7:30 p.m.

Summer success

Families can also learn more about the Recreation Department’s fall programs during National Night Out. Mr. Dunbar said he wants to continue the free tutoring program, host a couple more movie nights, and offer a “safe Halloween night” for local families.

As for the department’s summer program, it’s been a rousing success, he said.

‘We have a day camp that’s growing out of control. It’s just taken off,” he said. “We’ve got hundreds of Portsmouth residents enrolled in that, which is far better than we expected.”

Attendance is also way up at Sandy Point Beach, he said.

“The beach has been doing really well this year. We’re getting to the point where on the weekends I have to turn cars away at 2 o’clock. In the last year or two, things have really taken off down there,” Mr. Dunbar said.