Cleaning Up Montebello

Montebello, Los Angeles, faced a graffiti and vandalism problem in its central business district and surrounding public parks. City officials feared the pervasive vandalism was driving away commercial traffic and eroding residents' and workers' quality of life.

The city's response was to install a video surveillance system which includes a special audio sensor designed to respond to the hiss from a can of spray paint so that a camera can hone in on the perpetrator and produce a time-stamped image of the offence.