BAKERSFIELD - Law enforcement in Kern County has turned high-tech in its fight against graffiti.

With a click of a camera, law enforcement will now be able to catch taggers, at least on tape.

The Kern County General Services Department and Sheriff's Department hope a talking surveillance camera will deter taggers. It says, "Stop. Your picture has been taken. It is illegal to spray graffiti or dump trash in this area. Leave the area now."

The camera first warns verbally, then flashes a picture when someone walks by.

For every camera site, the county said they have seen a 95 percent drop in graffiti.

"We've had some real interesting pictures that we've shot over already that we wish we could have shown you tonight, but we have some really good shots, and they're doing a really good job," said Richard Johnson from the Graffiti-Off program.

The county installed a camera on the side of Bill Geddes' liquor store on Alta Vista Drive. He said he has noticed big changes.

"The taggers realize that. They get in trouble for tagging now," said Geddes.

John Basham from Basham Funeral Care said he has had similar results.

"We used to get tagged probably once every couple of weeks, and now we haven't been tagged in months," Basham said.

Seventeen cameras have been placed around graffiti-ridden areas, including fake cameras. There's not much of a difference visually in the dummy and real cameras. In fact, many are placed around town.

"We do it so that we can give other businesses a chance that are getting hit a lot," said Johnson. "They want a part of the action, too, because graffiti out there is big business. It's out there all the time."

Each camera costs about $5,000.