OXNARD : 9 Juveniles Held Over Graffiti Spree

Nine juveniles have been arrested in connection with a graffiti spree last week along Oxnard Boulevard, in which taggers left a spray-painted trail on 46 residences and businesses, police told the Oxnard City Council Tuesday evening.

Police arrested a 17-year-old and seven 16-year-olds from Oxnard and a Port Hueneme youth, 14.

One youth was booked into Juvenile Hall, while the others were cited on felony vandalism and conspiracy charges and released to their parents.

The youths attend Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Rio Mesa high schools.

Police announced the arrests as the Oxnard City Council took up an anti-graffiti plan that will put more cleanup crews on the street and seek the help of neighborhood volunteers to catch vandals.

The new program, which was approved unanimously, could cost as much as $94,000, but council members said the expenditure was necessary to put an end to a proliferation of graffiti that has stained Oxnard in recent months.

The city spends more than $500,000 a year to wipe out graffiti, according to a city staff report.

The new plan will establish the city’s Community Services Department as the headquarters for the graffiti crackdown.

City officials will ask taxi drivers, bus drivers and anyone else with a two-way radio or portable phone to report graffiti whenever they see it. City leaders said they will push for laws that prohibit the sale of aerosol paint to minors.

Efforts to catch vandals will be at the heart of the new program, and city officials will offer a $250 reward to anyone providing useful information about vandals.