LIVERMORE — Police are stepping up enforcement at two churches after vandals tagged them with offensive graffiti, including a swastika, on multiple occasions over the past two weeks.

According to police, the vandalism began Jan. 12, when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 950 Mocho St. reported religious-oriented “derogatory comments” spray-painted on the walls of the church, followed two days later by more graffiti, including pentagrams and a swastika.

The Holy Cross Lutheran Church and Preschool, located next door to the Mormon church, was also tagged twice, on Jan. 13 and 21, with what police are calling innuendos related to marijuana.

Livermore police Officer Traci Rebiejo said the department is investigating the incidents as hate crimes.

“We can tell they’re related,” Rebiejo said. “The taggings are very simple-minded and crude in nature, and we believe the suspects are juveniles. We are taking this very seriously.”

By Friday morning, the graffiti at the Mormon church had been covered over with a fresh coat of white paint. Kurt Alexander, stake president of the church, downplayed the incidents, saying the church has been tagged “a number of times” in recent years.

“We don’t see it as a (hate crime),” Alexander said. “I think we’ve had vandalism in the past, but usually it doesn’t go on very long. This has been probably the most numerous times (over a short period), but each time we’ve just gone and cleaned it off and asked the members to be vigilant … We’ve just chalked it up to kids.”

Holy Cross Lutheran office manager Kate Valley said graffiti, including some profanity, was found on the church’s preschool building but was quickly covered over before children could see it. It wasn’t the first time the church has been hit, she said, adding that the congregation was more concerned about the strain on resources than anything else.

“It wasn’t a hate crime; we think it’s just teenagers,” Valley said. “We just wish someone would come and tell us why they’re doing this … We’re a small congregation, so it’s calling on Tom, Dick and Harry to try to clean it up. We just painted the building last year. You hope it doesn’t happen again.”

Holy Cross church member Carol Bunn was stunned to learn of the incidents.

“It’s awful, and it’s even worse when it’s at a church. It’s just sad to see,” Bunn said. “Any time you do graffiti on a church, to me, that’s a hate crime. You’re targeting a faith-based organization.”

Both churches are near Granada High School and the Arroyo Mocho Trail, a popular pathway for students, cyclists, hikers and the general public.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Livermore Police Department at 925-580-9665.

Contact Jeremy Thomas at 925-847-2184. Follow him at Twitter.com/jet_bang.