Kids and cops joined forces to clean up a community.

They weren't busting criminals, but volunteers and police officers took on a different kind of crime. On Wednesday, we hit the streets to see how these good deeds are cleaning up the streets.

Kids from the Boys and Girls Club in La Crosse are teaming up with cops to do a little graffiti busting.

"In a positive way, say, hey this is our city. We want it to look nice and we don't want graffiti in our area," says Avrie Schott with the La Crosse police department.

The cops and kids try to paint over graffiti in areas where children play. Schott says the program gives kids something positive to do in the summertime and helps them be a good influence on the people around them.

"Taking the kids and having that positive peer pressure from their peers... saying enough is enough, please stop putting graffiti in our city sends a message a lot stronger than if an officer goes out and tells somebody don't put graffiti there."

The cops aren't the only ones getting a kick out of cleaning up the streets. The volunteers say making their play areas less of an eye sore and hanging out with their friends is why they do it.

"I don't like graffiti,” says volunteer Courtney Turner. “It's really sad that people do this so I thought it would be fun to help."

"I get to hangout with cool people,” says Areschial Page, another volunteer. “I get to see some art that other people don't get to see. I get to take words out off the concrete so little kids don't have to read it."

The twenty volunteers along with three cops cleaned graffiti in six spots and Schott says it's always a great time.

"To have a sense of ownership in our community and so being able to send that message and work with the kids is the best part."

The La Crosse police department says it holds one graffiti bust every summer.