GRAFFITI CRIMES UP THREEFOLD CITY UNSURE WHETHER THERE ARE MORE TAGGERS, OR A FEW, MORE ACTIVE ONES.

Byline: ERIC LEACH Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY -- The number of reported graffiti cases here nearly tripled last year to nearly 2,400, a jump that has baffled city officials and police.

There were 2,388 reports of graffiti in 2006, up from 856 in 2005 and the most in a decade, according to the Simi Valley Police Department.

``We have a rash of this right now,'' said City Councilman Glen Becerra, who asked city officials at the last council meeting of 2006 to find the harshest penalties available to curb the problem. ``It's a plague on our community.''

Between 1992 and 1996, there were more than 2,000 cases of graffiti vandalism reported in Simi Valley each year, with a peak of 4,038 in 1993.

But by 2001, the reports had dropped below 1,000 a year, with 768 cases reported that year, and a low of 526 in 2002.

This led city officials to characterize their anti-graffiti program as ``extremely successful'' on the city's Web site, where the statistics are posted.

But these officials could only speculate why the 2006 reports had increased so steeply, unsure whether there was a new tagging trend among the valley's teenagers or whether the stats were somehow being inflated, possibly by more vigilant reporting rather than more actual crimes.

``Why the numbers are going up, I don't know that anybody knows,'' said Ron Fuchiwaki, the city's assistant director of public works.

Simi Valley police Lt. Greg Riegert said he believes the figures dropped in the mid-'90s because of the city's aggressive anti-graffiti work, including the effort to remove all graffiti in the city within 24 hours after it is reported.

But he couldn't say why reports have gone up so sharply in 2006 and wondered whether it might have something to do with the growing popularity of surfing and music stickers some teenagers illegally post around the city.

Fuchiwaki said the stickers are occasionally listed in graffiti reports, but not often.

As part of an investigation into the increase, six teenagers were arrested recently on suspicion of felony vandalism in connection with a tagging crew believed responsible for more than 100 crimes.

The arrests are part of a crackdown initiated last summer after graffiti cases began rising at an alarming rate. In June, the City Council approved spending $95,000 to hire a temporary graffiti-abatement officer.

Tagger crews are known for leaving their marks over a wide region, and some responsible for graffiti in Simi Valley are believed to come from out of town. One person active in 2006 left graffiti from Simi to Santa Barbara.

Riegert said a small group of taggers can be responsible for scores of crimes -- and a spike in statistics.

``It takes just one person to put up a lot of graffiti,'' he said. ``This crew threw up hundreds of tags in a short period of time.''

The six teenagers, including one girl, are believed to be part of a tagger crew responsible for $60,000 in damage, police said.

``These taggers went citywide,'' said Darin Muehler, supervisor of the Simi Valley Police Department's Special Problems Section. ``Gangs might target a certain area, but taggers go everywhere. They went to Royal High School, Simi Valley High School, Apollo High School and all kinds of neighborhoods.''

Most Simi Valley residents grow concerned when they see graffiti in their community because they associate it with street gangs, which raises concerns about public safety, Becerra said. But he and Councilwoman Barbra Williamson, who both serve on the city's anti-gang task force, said they believe most of the graffiti increase locally comes from the tagger crews, not gangs.

``I don't know what is causing the increase,'' Williamson said. ``I can't imagine why anyone would want to do it. ... When we catch these kids, we need to hold them accountable.''

Some teens might get involved because of artistic inclinations they could otherwise channel into legal activity. ``I'd like to find a way where we could harness it, so to speak,'' she said.

But Becerra said giving people a public spot where they could practice graffiti art legally would probably encourage illegal graffiti as well.

``Our strategy is to attack graffiti as soon as it is seen,'' he said, pointing out that he has the city's graffiti hotline -- [phone] -- programmed into his phone so he call it in as soon as possible.

``The faster you can get it down, the less likely a tagger will repeat.''

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Chart:

Simi Valley graffiti incidents

Source: Simi Valley Police Department

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