NATCHEZ — Adams County sheriff’s deputies will be systematically working from the north end of the county southward Tuesday.

But the law enforcement officers won’t be searching for criminals, at least primarily.

They’ll be looking for residents who want to take ownership of their neighborhoods and prevent crime through the Neighborhood Watch program.

Adams County’s National Night Out program — a community event meant to allow residents the chance to interact with law enforcement officers in their own environments — will start at approximately 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Adams County Sheriff’s Office Neighborhood Watch liaison Courtney Taylor said the ACSO is using the event as an opportunity to raise awareness about Neighborhood Watch programs.

“This is a way to make not only the general public aware of it, but to make the specific neighborhoods aware of it,” Taylor said. “It is a big gathering and a good recruitment tool for each neighborhood.

“We want to encourage Neighborhood Watch programs because it is active in reducing crime and in creating fellowship and less fear in neighborhoods.”

The sheriff’s deputies will all caravan from one neighborhood to the next. At each stop, they meet with the residents and the Neighborhood Watch committees of each area.

“This is not only an opportunity for us to meet and greet, but for residents to celebrate their neighborhoods,” Taylor said.

The ACSO’s National Night Out stops are tentatively scheduled for:

-Broadmoor: 5:30 to 5:50 p.m.

-Selma: 6 to 6:20 p.m.

-Morgantown: 6:30 to 6:50 p.m.

-Kingston: 7:30 to 8 p.m.

-Sibley: 8:20 to 9 p.m.

Taylor said the schedule could be subject to some adjustment as the night progresses.

The Natchez Police Department had a similar effort inside the city limits in August, but for the last two years the ACSO has chosen to follow the example of other jurisdictions in the South and host the National Night Out events in October to allow for more temperate weather and less active mosquito populations.