Area Groups to Join in Night Against Crime : Activism: ‘National Night Out’ on Aug. 6 will include marches, vigils and rallies to warn criminals that residents are on guard. Millions are expected to participate across the country.

Some Westside residents and Neighborhood Watch groups plan to take to the streets Aug. 6 in a national anti-crime effort called “National Night Out.”

The event is designed to promote prevention of drug use and crime, boost neighborhood spirit and improve police-community relations.

Residents hope that by walking the streets, holding candlelight vigils and staging rallies, they will send a message to criminals that their neighborhoods are alert and united against crime, said Matt Peskin, national project coordinator for the National Assn. of Town Watch, a Wynnewood, Pa., nonprofit organization that is sponsoring the event.

This year’s event, the eighth annual “night out,” is expected to draw a record 23 million participants from 8,300 communities in all 50 states, some U.S. territories and even some Canadian cities. Some local events are being coordinated through area police stations or city governments, while other Neighborhood Watch groups plan to participate on their own, Peskin said.

On the Westside, the Wilshire Community Police Council and the Westwood Gardens Civic Assn. have officially signed on to participate, as have the city of West Hollywood and several Hollywood-area civic groups, Peskin said.

One of the largest participating groups will be the Wilshire Community Police Council, a booster club that works to fight crime with the Wilshire Division of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The Wilshire police booster organization’s 300 or so block clubs plan to march the streets of their neighborhoods with the LAPD’s senior lead officer for the area, capping the event with block parties, said council President Lillian Mayfield.

“The main thing throughout the area,” Mayfield said, “will be for everyone to turn on their porch lights, to show that their area is united against crime.”

In Hollywood, the 14 groups that make up the United Streets of Hollywood will march through their neighborhoods, then meet with other groups at 8:30 p.m. at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Las Palmas Avenue for a joint march, said Sharyn Romano, co-chair of the United Streets of Hollywood.

Among the groups participating will be the Hollywood Sentinels, the Grace Cats, the Holly Drive Owners Assn., the Ivar Hawks and the Rampart Rangers, Romano said.

“We’ll hit all the hot spots--the most offensive sites and streets, to show that we are unified and to get more people to join,” Romano said.

In West Hollywood, the Norton-Laurel-Hayworth Neighborhood Watch organization will serve lemonade and dessert along with safety tips and crime-fighting information, while other groups are planning potluck dinners and other events, said Patricia Frank, a West Hollywood neighborhood services specialist. Sheriff’s deputies will have horse and motorcycle patrol units on the streets, and city officials will pass out free pocket flashlights, Frank said.

“It builds a sense of community,” said Frank, who has been spreading the word about the event among neighborhood groups. “It’s like a big block party.”

At 6 p.m., Wilshire-area residents can attend a rally at Pan Pacific Park, just east of Farmers Market, said LAPD Sgt. Ron Batesole. Residents will go on a 2 1/2-mile march, Batesole said. Peskin, the national coordinator, said groups in Inglewood, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Lawndale and Palos Verdes Estates plan to participate.

Groups interested in participating can contact their local police or city officials, or the National Assn. of Town Watch at (215) 649-7055.