KNOX, Pa. (EYT) — Chief of Police Joab Orr and Officer Jason Bowen, of the Knox Police Department, have made it their mission to strengthen the relationship between the police and the community.

Recently, Bowen was presented with a commendation from the Knox Borough Council for his efforts to improve community relations and his stellar performance as an officer of the law for the town since September of 2010.

Both Bowen and Orr have made great strides towards improving the department’s relationship with the community, and they feel the community has been very approachable as a result of their efforts.

They concur, however, that it was not always this way.

“I think back to the days when I first started here, it (seemed) like it was the ‘us vs. them’ mentality,” Bowen told exploreClarion.

“When you’d go out on the streets, you didn’t get the waves and stuff like you get now.”

Bowen said that the Knox Police Department has worked very hard to change this since he started in 2010, and they plan to take it to the next level with their “National Night Out” event which takes place on Tuesday, August 6, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Keystone Elementary School.

The event aims to help the community interact with the individuals who work in local emergency service agencies in a fun and family-friendly way.

The “National Night Out” initiative will include presentations by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Life Flight, MedEvac, the Clarion County Emergency Management Agency, the Sheriff’s Department, the Knox Volunteer Fire Company, and Clarion County SAFE (Stop Abuse for Everyone).

It is free of charge and will consist of family games, as well as hot dogs, chips, and drinks. C-93 FM will be providing music and coverage at the event.

One of the goals of this event is to let the community know the magnitude of the emergency services they have available to them and to expand on the positive rapport they have built with the Knox community.

Chief Orr believes that community relations are more important now than they have ever been.

“I mean without the community, our job, you can’t do it, you’ve gotta have the community support,” Orr said.

“There’s so much negativity in the news and online that ‘You can’t trust the police’ and just like any profession, there are going to be bad apples in any profession. We’re human beings, no one’s perfect.

“We’re going out there to tell the kids: ‘You can trust us,’” Orr added.

Although the Knox Police Department is the first in the county to undertake this type of initiative, the officers are hoping that other communities will take this idea and implement it in their own neighborhoods.

Over the years, the Knox Police Officers have spearheaded a variety of community events, such as the fill-a-car food drive, Once Upon a Christmas ceremony, an easter egg hunt, rock painting, egg decorating, and movie night events, and suicide prevention presentations.

“We have good programs, but we always say ‘Next year let’s make it better,’” Bowen said.

Bowen and Orr agree that the success of their community relations efforts has been based around one key principle: Respect.

“To get respect, you’ve gotta give respect regardless of what you do,” Bowen explained.

“It’s nothing personal, I have a job to do but there’s no reason to disrespect you (if you get arrested). If I’ve got a warrant, you’ve got to go to jail, it is what it is, but I don’t have to treat you different.”

“That doesn’t make you a bad person, you have rights. Treat others how you want to be treated,” Bowen added.

The pair also say that they receive a tremendous amount of support and help from the community for the events that they do, which they say they are incredibly grateful.

“Knox is blessed to have what they have in this small community,” Orr said.

“We help put it together, but there are so many people, I couldn’t name them all, who help us. We’ve got a lot of families moving in as well, we just try to keep it family fun that’s cheap, safe, and a good time.”

All Knox Borough Police Department events are made possible through community sponsorships.

If you would like to be part of the “National Night Out” event, reach out to Knox Police Department via their email address KBPD@windstream.net.

The Knox Borough Police Department would also like to give a special thanks to Shawn Algoe and the Keystone School Board for allowing them to host the event on their facilities.