By Nancy Needham  nancy@theacorn.com

"Historically, graffiti has been a very difficult crime. It's hard for us to catch them because they are very conniving. They go out in the middle of the night and do it very quickly," said Ventura County Sheriff's Department spokesperson Capt. Jerry Hernandez.

With the bicycle patrol and the community's help, it seems that reality is changing. Those painting graffiti may do their work in the dark of night with lookouts around them, but police officers also have a plan.

"The bikes are very quiet. A patrol car may alert them when it drives up and the officers get out of the cars, but they don't hear the bikes coming," Hernandez said.

He also said officers will go out on foot patrol to catch those who spray paint graffiti monikers--their gang signatures--for public display. Officers know the areas and neighborhoods where the unsightly spray painting usually occurs, and they're out watching for it, he said.

"Tagging is not harmless vandalism," Hernandez said.

Those who apply graffiti to walls are marking their territory. Other taggers will go and cross out someone else's moniker, replacing it with their own gang signature. "Once it escalates to them crossing out each other, physical violence can follow," Hernandez said.

Before graffiti is removed, police take photographs and keep a record. When someone is convicted, they--or their parents if the taggers are minors--are required to pay the cost of restoring what they destroyed. "Sometimes that can be very, very costly," Hernandez said.

Another weapon in the police arsenal- the public- has been effective in fighting graffiti. "It helps when people call when they see it happening," Hernandez said. "The community is our eyes and ears."

In July the public works department removed graffiti from private property on 87 occasions and from public property on 54, according to Hans Faber, landscape maintenance supervisor. That brought the total to 498 graffiti removals so far this year, a slight increase over last year, he said.