Halethorpe Civic League hosted its first Night Out Against Crime on Tuesday night, the 29th anniversary of the annual national campaign to bring residents, law enforcement and elected officials closer together.

"We're trying to reach out to this community," said the group's president, Otis Collins.

About 80 people gathered at the Halethorpe Community Center and adjacent park for hot dogs and other goodies.

The community group recently organized a Citizens on Patrol unit, which has been going out on patrols for about four weeks, according to COP coordinator Kyle Stradone.

Eight people have joined Halethorpe's COP program to date, which patrols three or four times an evening, Stradone said.

"We've seen some petty stuff in the neighborhood--vandalism, mail boxes destroyed," he said. "[Citizens on Patrol] is a deterrent, in the sense that they see us out in the community."