Block parties are expected to pop up throughout Tracy on Tuesday evening to combat crime.

Barbecues and games organized by Neighborhood Watch groups and the Tracy Police Department will kick off National Night Out, an annual effort to ignite community spirit and introduce residents to law enforcement officers, firefighters and other community leaders.

A neighborhood on West Lowell Avenue plans to teach its residents about crime prevention with a country western-themed barbecue.

Neighborhood Watch captain Eddi Travao Madruga spruces up her neighborhood Friday for a National Night Out gathering Tuesday. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press

A sign that reads, “The good, the bad and the ugly,” hangs along the fence of eight-year Neighborhood Watch captain Eddi Travao Madruga’s home. She said her block’s theme represents Neighborhood Watch as “the good,” crime represents “the bad,” and gang graffiti “the ugly.”

“This sends a message that (Neighborhood Watch) is active and alive,” she said.

A caravan of Tracy police officers will visit get-togethers to give residents names and faces to local law enforcement.

“It’s meant to bring neighbors as well as law enforcement together to celebrate their commitment to detour crime,” said Deputy Les Garcia, a spokesman for the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department.

Madruga, a lifelong Tracy resident, said Neighborhood Watch and National Night Out events have prompted her neighbors to be on the lookout for crime.

“The crime is escalating so bad all over town that it seems like Neighborhood Watch is a tool of the future,” she said. “Our neighbors have become like a family.”

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