There appears to be a penchant for damaging local signs and while the crime is listed as "criminal mischief" there really is no "little" crime. A crime is a crime and that was the attitude of former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to cut down crime in New York City.

He instructed the police to go after the petty thief just getting started in becoming a career criminal. Catching them early in their careers let them feel the hand of justice and kept many of them from continuing to feel free to take advantage of society, he said.

That is true of what is happening in the Oyster Bay-East Norwich-Muttontown area. It is time for local residents to report anything they see happening that is suspicious.

Of course, vandals try to make sure no one is looking when they take action, but hopefully during the next few days, weeks and months, you will take a closer look at what is happening and together we may be able to set some vandals back on the straight and narrow.

The assumption of course is that vandals are teens gone astray - and they will become adults with a different perspective on what they are doing. One year, while walking on Beekman Beach, a parent with a small child said, "I was one of the kids who burned down the little shack here. Now that I have a child, I'm really sorry I did it."

So let's not let these kids have any more regrets to live with. Let's help find out who is creating criminal mischief. It is not a petty crime, it is a preliminary to more serious crime.