Police are asking the public to report any suspicious activity specifically relating to vandalism after an area in the south side of Portage la Prairie was targeted this week.

Several buildings and at least two vehicles were tagged with spray paint in an area between 11th St. SW and 17th St. SW, the RCMP says.

Other incidents of vandalism have occured in the region recently, too. Just last week several signs and buildings in Oakville were tagged with graffiti. RCMP Cst. Sean O'Keefe says mischief to property crimes -- including vandalism, damage to property or excessive noise -- do happen somewhat commonly in the region with 471 incidents reported to police since Jan. 1, 2016. He says more than 314 of those cases have gone unsolved, because police often don't have witnesses to identify suspects, or evidence to support further investigation.

"We take that seriously," O'Keefe says. "A lot of these indcidents, people are victimized at random and it causes a lot of grief to the property owners in the form of having to clean up the spray paint or rectify the damages."

The RCMP constable says there's a lot people can do to help police in preventing future incidents.

"First and foremost, report an incident as it happens. If they see it happening, report it as soon as possible," Cst. O'Keefe says. "This increases the likelihood that we might be able to catch the people responsible."

"Also, don't view it as an inconvenience to us to report an incident after the fact," O'Keefe continues. "Reporting is still valuable to us as we can establish some patterns and patrol accordingly."

O'Keefe adds: installing home security systems including cameras can help too, as they aid police in identifying suspects and provide evidence for criminal charges or insurance claims.