Graffiti is an unsightly problem affecting many areas in the Salt Lake Valley. Unfortunately, the issue goes beyond unwanted paint on a wall.

Quality of life crimes can have a profound impact on a community as a whole. With that in mind, Mayor Cherie Wood and the South Salt Lake Police Department donated copies of a children’s anti-graffiti book to elementary students in the city to help foster social responsibility.

The book, titled “Graffiti in Tahiti,” tells the story of sea creatures who are oblivious of the negative impact their purple paint is having on their undersea community. It is the first and only children’s book focusing on graffiti vandalism.

“If we do not teach our children the values we want them to embrace, they will make up their own,” said South Salt Lake Police Chief Jack Carruth.