Graffiti is vandalism.

It’s not sought out. It’s not art. It’s not clever. It’s not welcome.

It’s ugly.

A large amount of ugly graffiti is showing up in downtown Oak Harbor, and it’s a problem the historic district and city just don’t need.

Building owners and merchants, and in some cases city taxpayers, are being saddled with the cost of cleaning up the mess.

People sometimes worry that talking about a problem like graffiti is, in a way, rewarding the culprits by giving them undeserved attention.

Talking about graffiti and exposing the problem for what it is — costly vandalism to privately-owned and city property — helps to enlighten, inform and empower the community to get to the root of the problem.

It’s akin to putting a neighborhood watch on full alert.

Ignoring graffiti and other crimes won’t curb problems, and Oak Harbor police apparently get that. The police department is asking for help tracking down the vandals via the community newspaper and social media.

Chances are there’s someone in Oak Harbor who possesses information that might help unlock this case.

The City of Oak Harbor has already spent a chunk of the Parks Division’s budget on mitigating vandalism. If the perpetrators aren’t caught soon, that budget will be blown.

Oak Harbor Detective Sgt. Mike Bailey said that police can’t do much about nuisance crimes like graffiti unless someone turns in the perpetrators, or the culprits are caught in the act of vandalism.

Shining a spotlight on the importance of watching for suspicious activity will, hopefully, lead to an arrest.

Information is power.

Awareness is one of the biggest strengths we can have as a community and by working together, hopefully the graffiti vandals will soon be nabbed.