The items were also handed out at the recent North Penn PAL National Night Out
During the North Penn Police Athletic League National Night Out, many area residents and other municipal police department employees were reportedly impressed by the useful “swag” being handed out by the Ambler Police Department.
“I walked around, and there were so many other tents, other police departments, that were so impressed that we were giving away these gun locks,” said Amy Hughes, an Ambler Borough Council Member, representing Ward 1, during the Aug. 6 Committees Meeting of the Ambler Borough Council.
However, the handing out of such utilitarian items is nothing new for Ambler police.
“The police department has free gun locks and steering wheel locks available,” said Ambler Police Chief Jeffrey Borkowski. “All Ambler residents can come to the station and request the items.”
The department has offered the items, free of charge, any time the department is open.
“We have been distributing the steering wheel locks for the last year-and-a-half,” said Borkowski. “The gun locks have been available for the last three years.”
Both items, Borkowski said, were made possible through donations to the department.
“If anyone needs a gun lock, please reach out to Ambler Police Department,” said Hughes. “We do have them, as well as steering wheel locks. Come get them!”
According to a June 2024 study on the topic, which was published in the Center for Disease Control (CDC)’s Journal, half of the homes in America have a firearm in the home. Of those that reported having a loaded firearm in the home (around 43.8 percent) and a child age 17 and under, up to 41.1 percent reported that that firearm was kept unlocked.
“Previous research has demonstrated that most fatal unintentional firearm deaths among children and adolescents aged 1 to 17 years occur in a house or apartment, and that the firearms used were often stored loaded and unlocked and were discharged during play or when showing the firearm to someone else,” said the study.
Locks have been made readily available to any Ambler resident for the past three years and were not a new feature for locals. Such safety measures can go a long way at keeping gun owners and their friends and families, safer.
The North Penn PAL event itself (see WissNow coverage of the night here, including photos and video of the live helicopter landing), however, was a first for Ambler police.
“I would like to thank Officer Nick, for the wonderful event that was put on, and Chief, up at North Penn,” said Ward 2 Council Member Jennifer Henderson. “They got together with a bunch of different boroughs and townships do this National Night Out.”
“It just was a wonderful event, and I just want to shout out for Officer Nick for doing such a great job,” said Henderson. “Our tent was such a hit. We had our little car. We had our little speed trap, and lots of gifts.”
Henderson asked that, come budget season, the council remember this type of event and perhaps reserve money for additional “swag bags” for next year’s function.
“It will help represent our borough, and get [Nick] involved, and our borough involved, with different police departments throughout the county,” said Henderson.
Hughes echoed Henderson’s explanation of the North Penn PAL’s National Night Out.
“It really was a fantastic event,” said Hughes. “It was the first time that we had participated, and Jen’s right, our tent was packed.”
Hughes said a major attraction was getting a picture taken with Chief Borkowski.
“Next thing you know, poor Chief was standing there with a line of kids,” she said. “It was so good. It was so well done. Ambler came out strong.”
You don’t have to worry if you missed the North Penn PAL event. The free items are always available at the Ambler station, located at 131 Rosemary Ave., Ambler. For more information or to arrange a pick-up of one of the free items, call the Ambler Police Department’s non-emergency number at 215-643-6444.
