It took a little bit of body art to identify one of several taggers who have been using buildings in Brentwood as canvasses for graffiti.

Whitehall deputy police Chief Rich Danko said Eric Steen, 18, of 2811 Brentwood Avenue, Brentwood, confessed to being behind the "EROCH" graffiti tag in Brentwood, after he was taken into custody for tagging spots in Whitehall.

Steen was charged with four counts of criminal mischief and institutional vandalism for leaving the "EROCH" tag on Baldwin High School, a cable service box on Skyline Drive, road signs and in Wallace Park, Danko said.

A tattoo on Steen's arm gave away his tagging identity, followed by a confession, Brentwood Police Chief Robert Butelli said.

His information was turned over to the Brentwood Police Department, and Sgt. John Vojtas is leading the investigation.

"He is compiling a list of incidents involved with the 'EROCH' tag, bringing him in to interview and deciding how many counts of criminal mischief to file against him," Butelli said.

The department is also investigating another unnamed tagger. Officer Scott Harding is working with school officer Joe Kazarian at Brentwood Middle/High School.

Butelli said the unnamed tagger has been using his mark in the school and throughout the borough.

Police file photographs of all graffiti with Kazarian at the school, hoping a particular writing style will stand out to teachers. Because property

owners are likely to remove graffiti, police use the photos to determine how many charges will be associated with particular tags.

Anyone caught drawing graffiti could be charged with criminal mischief and disorderly conduct, Butelli said.

A few months ago, Officer Milt Mulholland arrested one of four juveniles that caught tagging one of Alexander Lese's buildings on Brownsville Road, Butelli said. The arrested juvenile refused to give up the names of his cohorts, but Butelli thinks a trip to District Justice John Bova's office might change his mind.

"Once he gets over there and realizes how serious we are, he might give up the others' names," Butelli said.

Bova said, if found guilty, doing graffiti is a summary offense.

Several summons have been issued, but are yet to be answered, Bova said. He expects to have several more graffiti cases on his docket.

"Most of the offenders are teens," Bova said. "We need to make it clear to kids they cannot get away with this in our communities. It's not fair to business owners or residents."

Punishments associated with graffiti usually include a fine, paying for the cleaning to have the graffiti removed and community service.

The current wave of graffiti has slowed down, which Butelli attributes to taggers being apprehended and charged.

"Once you charge a person, it keeps other kids from tagging," Butelli said. "Once they are aware arrests are being made, and we are actively pursuing taggers, it has a tendency to slow down."

Butelli said the involvement of the school police has been extremely helpful to conducting graffiti investigations.

"They are with the students all the time, and they get clues and information from them," Butelli said. "It's a matter of following up on leads and doing police work and taking the cases as they come in."