“It’s not as subtle as it used to be,” Ehrlich said. In an effort to help, one park patron recently donated a spray painter to the staff. Park officials used to routinely paint over the graffiti, until the sheer volume of it became too great. Matt Ehrlich, the assistant park director, said the problem has grown steadily for the past couple of years. Ornelas said South Central Los Angeles gangs apparently have started hanging out at the recreation area on weekends. Still another major graffiti site is the Cheviot Hills Recreation Center, a quiet park near Cheviot Hills and Rancho Park where buildings are practically encased in spray paint. And many businesses along other major thoroughfares contain the familiar scrawlings of Westside gangs such as “V13,” “SM13,” “SOTEL” and names such as “Sleepy” and “Zig Zag.” Graffiti also marks many of the newspaper racks, traffic light switching boxes and alleyways in Westwood Village. Even the stately palm trees that line the front of the stylish Westside Pavilion and the signs in front of 20th Century Fox Studios have repeatedly been vandalized. Pico Boulevard is littered with the stuff. On a recent weekday the lieutenant led a tour of some of the Westside’s worst graffiti sites. And while the Westside has nowhere near the degree of gang-related violence found in other areas, Ornelas said graffiti is one sure sign of an increased gang presence. But most agree that it has increased substantially, thanks in part to membership in Westside gangs also being on the rise.
Police cannot say exactly how much the graffiti problem has grown.
But people are becoming more aware of it.” Gabe Ornelas, commander of the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Bureau gang unit. “We are seeing more and more of this type of stuff coming into the Westside,” said Lt.
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