Carson City Sheriff’s Office Cops and Kids event Saturday

The Carson City Sheriff’s Office will be hosting its 12th annual Cops and Kids event Saturday.

The event, which is free to the public, is an open house and safety fair for kids and their families to interact with law enforcement in a fun environment. It will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday in front of the Sheriff’s Office. The street in front of the office will be closed down between Pratt and Harbin Avenues.

“It is basically like a safe street party,” Lisa Davis, community program coordinator for the Sheriff’s Office said. “The purpose is to build positive relationships with law enforcement and youth, and law enforcement and the community as a whole.”

Cops and kids will host a variety of law enforcement agencies including the K9 unit, Nevada Highway Patrol, Dispatch, D.A.R.E., and SWAT. They will also feature booths from community vendors and organizations across Carson City such as Food for Thought and Empty Bowls. Kids will get to see a number of law enforcement tools such as the police gear, patrol cars, and the SWAT vehicles. Other community organizations will have information, goodies, and activities for kids to participate in.

She said organizations have donated money that went to buying prizes and Grocery Outlet donated nearly 1,500 beverages and 1,400 hotdogs and buns to the event. The Carson City Kiwanis Club will be cooking for the event. The club meets Thursdays at the Casino Fandango.

“Our sponsors give from the heart,” Davis said. “I am so humbled by this community and the support they give me to run this event.”

The kids will get to participate in a scavenger hunt in and around the Sheriff’s Office where they will get signatures by visiting different booths, which can be turned in for a prize. Booths will be set up all over the Sheriff’s property, so kids will get to explore places like the CSI and fingerprinting lab. Davis said this is a rare time the Sheriff’s Office will be completely open to the public.

“It’s just great,” Davis said. “We have the music blasting and there will be kids running up and down the halls laughing.”

The community interaction is why the department hosts this event each year, Davis said.

“When Sheriff (Ken Furlong) came into office, he promised to open the doors to the office for the public,” Davis said. “That is something he promised to do from the beginning and it has been going on for 12 years.”

The event will be held rain or shine.