WASHINGTON - Police officers were very visible Tuesday night as they hit the streets for National Night Out.

This comes as police say violent crime is down four percent in the city this year. Murders are down more than 21 percent and overall crime is down slightly.

From Mississippi Avenue east of the river to Dupont Circle in Northwest, it's a once a year chance for D.C. police from around the city to meet and greet thousands of residents.

"We are the eyes of the community. The police need us; we need the police," said Mike Feldtein, an advisory neighborhood commissioner.

The idea is to heighten crime awareness and build community morale. While some are skeptical about this type of event making a difference, Mary Washington says she appreciates and welcomes the interaction.

"This is to show the community that they can interact with the police -- that they can interact with each other," she said. .

Still, a small section of the District is facing what residents are calling a big crime problem. Eighty cars have been broken into in just 60 days in the Shaw neighborhood, near Westminster and 9th Streets Northwest.

"I've heard a lot stories from neighbors who've had their cars broken into multiple times and basically what they end up doing is keeping their windows rolled down," said Nikolas Schiller, a resident.

Police say they've been trying to tackle the issue. "In the past 30 days we've had a reduction of about 40 percent in some of the thefts from autos but we still need to improve upon that -- there's still a problem," said Commander George Kucick of the Metropolitan Police Department (web | news) .

The leaflets on car windows on the same block are from neighbor Reid Dunavant. He says his home was one of four recently broken into. His rare, 250-piece sterling silver flatware collection, the subject of college lectures, is gone and.he's willing to pay $20,000 to the burglars if they give it back.

"I really just want the things back," he said.

Burglaries, police say, are down by 25 percent in the area but they add that one break-in is too many.

Afternoon roll calls were packed across the city as part of the sixth "All Hands On Deck. For 72 hours, every sworn D.C. police officer hit the streets on eight-hour tours of duty.

"A big event like National Night Out, officers who are participating in community events will deplete officers who are doing other very proactive police work," said D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier (web | news | bio) .

On top of food, music and local art, volunteers are also giving back with more than just their time.

The chief says she wants residents to keep in touch and that there is still a problem with witnesses not coming forward after a crime has been committed.

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