Santa Clarita’s Graffiti Task Force removed more tagging in 2009 than the previous year, even though there were fewer reported incidents, and fewer taggers are being arrested, according to a recent city report.

The report also listed several graffiti hot spots around the city and noted new programs and hardware the task force uses to get rid of tagging.

“We have noticed the trend that in 2009, a lot less people were reporting graffiti,” said Nicolas Marinelli, the task force’s graffiti-removal coordinator. “We just want to remind everybody to continue to report graffiti because once we get all the requests, we remove everything we have.”

The task force removed 7,503 graffiti tags last year, according to an annual report released by the city. That number is up from 7,305 graffiti tags removed in 2008, city officials said.

Deputies arrested 177 suspected taggers in 2009 — a drop from 2008 when 292 of the suspected vandals were arrested, according to the report.

However, the number of reports of graffiti was significantly lower last year compared to the year before.

The team received 6,075 hotline calls and online reports compared to 11,332 the year before, according to the task force’s 2008 and 2009 reports.

Hot spots for graffiti included Whites Canyon Road, Camp Plenty Road, Lyons Avenue, Northbridge and the Old Orchard paseos, the 2009 report said.

Major changes to the task force last year included the addition of a paint-matching truck that assists business owners and property owners in removing graffiti, as well as the start of a volunteer paseo-patrol program, Marinelli said.

The team also started teaming with local sheriff’s deputies to conduct night removal operations in graffiti hot spots, Marinelli said.

“It helps us get to places we need to remove with a lower amount of traffic,” he said. “It allows us to remove more graffiti.”

Other efforts included using 70 Santa Clarita buses to advertise a reward program for those reporting graffiti. Through the program, an informant can receive $500 if the reported information leads to the arrest and conviction of a tagger, Marinelli said.

Six prolific taggers, responsible for more than $42,000 in damages, were arrested in 2009, the report said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Brenda Cambra said the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and the Graffiti Task Force work well together to keep graffiti and taggers off the streets.

“They are in constant contact with us,” Cambra said. “They are resources that are always available to us.”