Police say vandalism is a common occurrence in State College, and local business owners say it is expensive and frustrating.

"A lot of people think vandalism is cheap . . . it doesn't work that way," said Margaret Kowalski, owner of Charmaine's French Bakery Cafe, 140 Kelly Alley.

Kowalski said she spent $1,000 to repair front and counter windows that were broken on Feb. 3.

In 1990, there were 974 reports of criminal mischief, or vandalism, in the borough, State College Bureau of Police Services Lt. Carmen Prestia said.

"The vast majority of vandalism in State College is believed to be related to alcohol and crimes of opportunity," Prestia said. Some people vandalize just because the window is there and nobody is around to stop them, he added.

"The chances of solving that crime are really, really low," he said.

A person caught for criminal mischief receives a citation if the damage is less than $500 and is arrested if the damages are more than $500, Prestia said.

"Invariably, one of the requirements of the magistrate is to make restitution (for the damage caused)," he said.

But because most criminals are not caught, store owners have to pay for damages with their own money or are forced to pay a deductable before submitting a claim to their insurance company.

Although the store is insured, Kowalski had to pay the deductable first. But she said it is not just the money that bothers her.

"You feel violated . . . I didn't do anything to them, why did they do this to me?" she asked.

In the past year, three windows have been broken at G.C. Murphy Co., 127 S. Allen St., store manager John Kelley said. One was broken on graduation day in May, one at the end of Fall Semester and the last on Jan. 14, he said.

Because G.C. Murphy is an older store, broken windows create another problem, Kelley said. They are made of an older, lower grade of glass that shatters when broken, he said.

"When I come in I'm worried about what I'll find," he said.

Building standards force the store to replace damaged windows with a more expensive tempered glass, which cracks instead of shatters, Kelley said. The window to replace the one broken in January cost $300 and took three weeks to arrive because it had to be special ordered, he said.

Prestia said although most vandalism is done for no apparent reason, occasionally the crime is committed for revenge or burglary.

Last fall, Brother's Pizza, 129 S. Fraser St., had its front door broken with a fire extinguisher and its cash register destroyed. Owner Odete Faria Santos said the vandals did not open the drawer, but nonetheless Santos had to replace the register for $1,700, she said.

Santos said she does not believe police do an adequate job when it comes to vandalism.

"I think the problem with police at State College is all they're prepared to do is deal with drunks," she said.

The front window at Mike's Video I, 228 W. College Ave., was replaced last week after vandals shattered it by shooting 11 ballbearings at it on Feb. 2, said store manager Russell Gula.

Four days later, nine more shatter marks were found, he added.

The window cost $250 to replace and the holes detracted from the appearance of the front of the store, he said. But he said customers commented that the marks, resembling bullet holes, complemented the "Die Hard II" poster that hung in the next pane.