Warren County’s efforts to build relationships between law enforcement and the public have won a national award thanks to Vicksburg’s zaniest crime fighter.

This week, retired Vicksburg police Sgt. Doug Arp presented an award from the National Association of Town Watches to Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace for the county’s outstanding participation in National Night Out. Vicksburg is one of three Mississippi locations to receive national recognition for it’s 2014 Night Out Events.

“We’ve been doing it all those years, and we’ve won an award every year,” Arp said.

With the dedication Arp puts in behind the scenes and for the public, it’s no wonder. Arp has been performing stunts — often for a week at a time — to raise awareness for National Night Out, which is America’s largest anti-crime event. He’s lived in dumpsters, sat atop billboards, swam in a fountain and gone horseback riding, all for the sake of raising awareness against crime.

“National Night Out is for the people to meet their officers,” he said. “The only time you meet a policeman is when you get a ticket or your house is broken into. That’s not a good time for social interaction.”

National Night Out was held Oct. 7 at sites around the city and county. Hundreds of people participated, meeting city police, firefighters and county deputies.

“We were very, very pleased the crime prevention efforts of Vicksburg and Warren County were recognized,” Pace said.

Oct. 1, Arp pulled one of his trademark stunts on horseback with the help of Rainbow Farms. Arp chose the therapeutic riding center as the place for the awards presentation.

Most states participate in Night Out in August, but several southern states use the first week of October.

“We used to do it in July or August, but it’s too hot. Since we did ours for a week, we backed it up to October,” Arp said. “Our biggest supporters are the kids and the elderly who we don’t want out in the heat.”

Of the hundreds of organizations that held National Night Out events in 2014, 281 submitted applications for awards in the 15,000 to 50,000-population range, said Allison Kostiuk, deputy director of the National Association of Town Watches. Only 42 received awards.

“They have to put together a presentation book and send it in,” Kostiuk said.

The presentation package includes a variety of locally generated promotional material ranging from photographs of events to detailed promotional plans, she said.

This year, Warren County is sharing accolades with Claiborne County Sheriff’s Department. Arp and Pace are planning to travel to Port Gibson soon to present the award to Sheriff Marvin Lucas.

Claiborne County also held their Night Out in October where more than 250 people grilled hamburgers and hotdogs.

“We kind of did a block party. We had a local DJ come out for about two hours. We tried to get the community involved and let them know we are human beings just like everyone else,”

Lucas said he gave community members a tour of the sheriff’s office, Claiborne County Jail and the county’s dispatch center.

“I even let them sit in my chair for a minute,” Lucas said.

Hattiesburg was the only other Mississippi location to received recognition for their 2014 Night Out events.

National Night Out was introduced in 1984 as an effort to promote involvement in crime prevention activities, police-community partnerships and neighborhood.