Graffiti vandals stop smiling — you’ll soon be on candid camera.

Fed up with hooligans destroying residential and business property with graffiti, the city will be installing new technology likely next month to help catch them in the act.

Bylaw boss Bill Bruce said the cameras, installed at graffiti trouble spots throughout the city, will be able to detect who is committing the crime through high resolution photos and aid investigations.

“It’s a way to track the system — photo technology that can track who is doing it,” he said.

“We want to capture more people doing it.

“We have an idea who is doing it — it’s a matter of proving it.”

A report released by the federal government in August 2008 found the number one concern in large communities that make people feel unsafe was graffiti, Bruce said.

“We don’t support it, my council does not support the issue of graffiti,” he said.

He said people often forget that graffiti vandalism can result in fines of $5,000 for an adult and $1,000 for youth.

Though he couldn’t divulge how many cameras will be installed and where they will be located, Bruce said the trouble areas include Deer Run, Queensland the inner city, Strathcona, Southwood and Hawkwood.

“We just got it and we’re in the process of going ahead with it,” he said.

While graffiti vandalism tends to slow down in the winter, the recent mild weather caused incidents to surge a bit when people take advantage of the warmth, Bruce said.

And in November, Calgary was rocked when vandals spray-painted swastikas and anti-Jewish slogans on a number of sites in Woodbine and Pump Hill, including a synagogue and Holocaust war memorial.

“We’re not prepared to tolerate it,” Bruce said.

Meanwhile the city’s anti-graffiti program launched in September, has also been well received.

Through it a city-hired contractor tends to residents or business owners who become victimized, and the city picks up part of the cleanup tab.

The costs for residents is $25 and for businesses $100 and the city will pay the rest.

“Because we believe our citizens, many don’t have the resources to foot it,” he said