AUBURN – Police are looking for volunteers to help them clear away evidence. The spray-painted word, “evidence,” that is.

In a recent spate of vandalism, that word and others have appeared on more than four dozen buildings around the Twin Cities.

“Graffiti is an unauthorized inscription, word, figure or design that is marked, etched, scratched, drawn or painted on any surface without the property owner’s permission,” Auburn’s interim police Chief Phil Crowell said in a news release. “Unwanted, it diminishes the quality of our neighborhoods and the community.”

In Auburn, police are asking residents to help by reporting locations where graffiti is found as well as information on those responsible.

In addition, Sept. 9 has been declared Graffiti Cleanup Day. From 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., police and others will be canvassing the city with cleanup crews and scrubbing graffiti from buildings, bridges, walls and other locations.

Anyone interested in participating can call Auburn police at 784-7332 or e-mail Crowell at [email protected].

“Graffiti or vandalism left alone only welcomes more,” Crowell wrote. “Young people become bolder to damage property already damaged. We need to take pride in our community and eliminate graffiti.”