RESEDA : Computers Aid Anti-Graffiti Pilot Program

Graffiti-removal teams have long faced the problem of unsightly patches left behind after graffiti has been painted over. Now, technology offers a solution: A hand-held computer that matches paints with scientific precision.

Los Angeles officials have purchased four of the devices as part of a six-month pilot program called Operation Zero Tolerance. Two will go to Westlake--the city’s hardest-hit area--and two will be sent to the San Fernando Valley.

One will be used in Mission Hills and another will aid a graffiti-abatement program operated by the nonprofit group El Centro de Amistad. It was unveiled Thursday in a parking lot behind the office of Councilwoman Laura Chick.

El Centro representatives welcomed the new addition to its war on graffiti. “We try to match the color, but all the colors are never the same,” said Emma Benoit, who manages El Centro’s graffiti task force. “This way, we can match it exactly.”

Like the other teams, the El Centro unit will operate around the clock to discourage taggers. Experience shows that taggers are particularly attracted to spots that have been painted over, said Tomas E. Martinez, El Centro’s executive director. “By us removing it, it becomes part of the challenge,” he said.

The hand-held computers are part of a kit priced at about $65,000. They include a laptop computer, paint-mixing machine, paint sprayers and paint, said Anthony R. Barrera, vice president of the Idaho-based Pro Paint, which makes the units. Cities or groups that purchase the kits provide their own vehicles.

The hand-held device is used to scan the surface to determine the formula of the paint originally used, Barrera said. The computer then shows the team what formula to use in matching the paint.

The system, Barrera said, also stores information on paint formulas as well as the address where the paint was covered over. That, he said, makes for quick return visits.

“Once it’s in the computer’s memory, you never have to scan the surface again,” he said. “You just go to the site, punch in the address and you have the formula.”

The computer technology, Chick said, is also useful to police, who use the information to determine the hardest-hit areas and plan stakeouts.

Those seeking to have graffiti removed may call El Centro at (818) 347-8565 or 347-8592.