It is estimated that Americans spend $12 billion dollars a year combating the scourge of criminal graffiti. In the next 12 months alone, the city of Moorpark will spend more than $100,000 removing graffiti from our neighborhoods. The cost to investigate, apprehend, and prosecute violators only adds to this cost.

Like other Ventura County cities spending vast sums of taxpayer money on graffiti abatement, these sorely needed funds would be better spent on critical public safety programs, transportation needs, and recreation services for children, teens, and seniors. Instead, our community spends a considerable amount of time and money removing the damage caused by what can only be described as criminal misconduct, a public and private nuisance, and a burden on both our property values and quality of life.

The graffiti epidemic should not go unchallenged. The city of Moorpark has experienced an increase in the level of graffiti and it continues to take a toll on our wallets and our pride. The equallyheavy toll on our community's emotional well being continues as many residents have expressed concern with the appearance of graffiti in their neighborhood. Their anger is clear and understandable. It is terribly frustrating to remove the seemingly undecipherable tag from a wall adjacent to your home or business only to repeat the cycle—often the very next day.

State legislation supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger enhances mandatory punishments for those convicted of graffiti vandalism. The city of Moorpark will introduce anti-graffiti legislation in the very near future. Strategies will include enhanced penalties for repeat offenders and holding parents financially accountable for the criminal misconduct of their minor children. Municipalities hope these news laws will serve as deterrents to graffiti vandals.

Despite the considerable expense and frustration of repairing and repainting many of the same walls and surfaces time and time again, experts agree on two fundamental points:

•Removing graffiti as quickly as possible is key. Graffiti left unattended is a clear signal to criminals that residents are uninterested in their activities. With this in mind, the city of Moorpark strives to remove graffiti from public property within 24 hours. The city also encourages the cooperation of private property owners by removing graffiti from their property within 72 hours.

•The second and most important component of a successful graffiti abatement strategy is the implementation of a comprehensive strategy encompassing prevention, suppression, identification, apprehension, and prosecution. While local governments should review existing strategies, we must acknowledge that we cannot arrest our way out of this problem. We must address the root causes of graffiti. Graffiti has little or nothing to do with art and is the byproduct of larger, more complex societal issues.

Graffiti is intrinsically linked to changes in society including the breakdown or absence of a stable family unit, the lack of values education, and the inability of our societal infrastructure to communicate, develop, encourage, and enforce basic fundamentals such as parental responsibility, respect for authority, respect for property, and pride in our communities.

To be successful, a comprehensive graffiti abatement strategy must take these factors into account, providing alternatives for our youth before they decide that picking up a spray can and defacing someone's home, business, or house of worship is an acceptable means of expression.

Then, and only then, with the involvement and cooperation of parents, law enforcement organizations, communitybased nonprofit organizations, schools, church leaders, and other community groups, will we be able to stem the tide of graffiti vandalism in our communities.