LEAVING THEIR MARK VANDALS CAUSE MORE THAN $200,000 IN TAGGING DAMAGE 2 MONTHS BEFORE MTA'S $300 MILLION ORANGE LINE OPENS.

Byline: Josh Kleinbaum Staff Writer

To frustrated motorists, the smooth asphalt ribbon bordered by clean soundwalls on the Orange Line route might look like an escape from rush- hour traffic, but it's an empty canvas to graffiti taggers.

Two months before the first Orange Line bus is expected to transport paying riders across the San Fernando Valley, graffiti artists have caused more than $200,000 in damage, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials said.

Deputies from the Sheriff's Department's Metro Transit Services Bureau have made more than 15 graffiti-related arrests on the Orange Line, and officials said they will continue to crack down on busway taggers.

``Most of these guys - once they're popped, once they're arrested - they don't tag our buses or trains anymore,'' sheriff's Lt. Mike Parker said. ``We don't just do a basic report.

``This thing is documented like it's the crime of the century. That's what it takes to get everybody to take this seriously.''

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority puts a high priority on graffiti, with crews working around the clock so markings on bus and train lines are removed within 24 hours, MTA spokesman Dave Sotero said.

The agency spent $7.3 million on its graffiti-abatement program in fiscal 2004-05.

When the Orange Line opens in the fall - the latest estimate is late October - MTA officials want it to be spotless.

``It's the face of the Metro system,'' Sotero said. ``If there is graffiti, it has a negative association. Our goal is to remove it as quickly as possible.''

Taggers have been drawn to the new Orange Line because of its cleanliness and privacy, although test runs that began this week have cut into that privacy and reduced the tagging, officials said.

Once the line begins normal operation and people are constantly in the area, officials expect the graffiti to drop off.

For now, though, it's a problem.

``During the construction period, you don't have a lot of eyes out there,'' Deputy Loren Worthington said. ``You have all these bare walls, which is inviting for criminal activity, especially vandalism.''

Authorities recently arrested four tagging suspects who were with a group of teens Worthington and his partner accosted about a month ago near a high graffiti area along the Orange Line in Van Nuys. The boys face felony vandalism and burglary charges related to $70,000 in damage caused at a Los Angeles Street Services maintenance yard near the busway.

Police expect to make more arrests, which they hope will cripple the tagging crew that may have as many as 40 members.

``If you put large numbers of them in jail at a time, they get scared,'' Worthington said.

The Sheriff's Department takes a multifaceted approach to fighting vandalism:

--Deputies rely on the public to report tagging as it happens, or to report information on taggers. Such reports can be made to the toll-free number, [phone].

--Deputies patrol buses and train lines to watch for graffiti - which is how Worthington found the Van Nuys tagging crew. Surveillance cameras also monitor buses, trains and platforms.

--The Sheriff's Department works with the Department of Probation, performing sweeps of known taggers on probation, looking for any violations.

--All instances of tagging are entered into a centralized database, allowing officers to recognize the extent of a tagger's work and investigate and prosecute accordingly.

``People are just so sick and tired of graffiti,'' Parker said. ``If a guy has a $550,000 home in the San Fernando Valley and the bus stop has graffiti all over it, I think for most people it makes them a little sick to their stomach.''

Josh Kleinbaum, [phone]

josh.kleinbaum(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Metro Transit Services Bureau deputies were able to pick names out of this graffiti in Van Nuys and arrest the taggers.

(2 -- color) Deputies Loren Worthington, left, Derrick Ballentine and Cynthia Cobos estimate damage at a Van Nuys city storage facility. ``If you put large numbers of them in jail at a time, they get scared,'' Worthington said of taggers.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer