Vandalism hurts the whole community Published Oct. 29, 2008 By Michael Ward 341st Security Forces Squadron MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- Look around our community. What do you see? Do you see graffiti? How about broken street lights or windows at the bus stops or spray-painted street signs? This is vandalism and it is a crime. Vandalism is the willful destruction of public or private property. It may be described in terms of criminal mischief, malicious mischief or malicious trespass. Each year, communities spend millions of dollars cleaning up graffiti, repairing buildings and vehicles, and replacing vandalized equipment. Our base community is no exception. Vandalism costs us all, even the youngest members of our communities. The money it costs for repair or replacement has to come from other sources. Higher taxes and insurance premiums as well as services or programs are cut to pay for damage caused by vandalism. More than money, vandalism causes people to feel angry, hurt and sometimes frightened when something of theirs or an item in their neighborhood had been vandalized. Recently, our base community has experienced some random acts of vandalism. The school bus stops have been discovered with broken windows and graffiti., and the baseball fields and the Medal of Honor Park have been vandalized by graffiti. Most vandals are young people from grade-school age to teens to young adults. They vandalize out of boredom, anger, revenge, defiance and as association with friends. They may be individuals or work in groups. As in most cases, vandalism is witnessed by non-participants or the vandals talk about their activities openly. This is where we seek your help. If you are aware of any information concerning acts of vandalism, please contact us and let us know. You can call the Security Forces Investigation section at 731-4499 or the 911 dispatch center at 731-3895. Help us keep our base community vandalism-free.