Vandals caught painting graffiti on public or private property will have to clean up their mess under new measures to be introduced by the State Government.
NSW Premier Nathan Rees today said vandals needed to be held responsible for their destructive behaviour.
"To youngsters who think graffiti is a good idea the message is very simple: if you mess up, you clean up,'' Mr Rees said.
"This isn't a victimless crime when someone performs graffiti ... it costs money to clean up, and it affects the amenity of where people live.
"The community is fed-up with it, I'm fed-up with it.''
The stern warning came after a report that teenagers had been caught tripping rail signals and stopping commuter trains before vandalising the carriages.
The Mercury has also launched a Halt the Hoons campaign highlighting the problem of vandalism and graffiti in the region.
In the Illawarra recently there have been several incidents of rocks being hurled at vehicles and violent videos of fighting youths have been posted on YouTube. Wollongong City Council is paying $74,000 to relocate a Woonona children's playground after repeated vandalism attacks.
Mr Rees said the NSW Government would amend the Young Offenders Regulation so that vandals would be required to either clean up graffiti, pay compensation to their victim or participate in training or education programs.
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