After finding trash piled up behind the Rockland Street gate, the association that operates the South Dartmouth Cemetery closed the entrance to foot traffic. But after doing so, the cemetery has been vandalized multiple times.

The cemetery, which runs along Elm Street and is centrally located in a residential area, is a popular spot for pedestrians and dog walkers. The 14-acre space has paved walkways and two entrances on Elm Street, two on Bush Street and one entrance on Rockland Street. It was the sole entrance on Rockland that became the center of some recent vandalism.

The cemetery is privately owned and operated, meaning the cemetery isn’t affiliated with the Town of Dartmouth or a specific church. A spokesmen representing the cemetery, who wished to not be named fearing retaliation from the vandal, said that trash around the property has increased this summer.

He said it was particularly bad near the Rockland Street entrance. That particular entrance has two gateways, one near the street and another closer to the cemetery. The space in between the gates is an unlit stretch of road surrounded by woods.

Originally, the gate on Rockland Street was designed so that it would prevent cars from getting in, but it had a large enough gap between the two gates so walkers could pass through. However, members of the South Dartmouth Cemetery Association were finding bags of trash, old appliances and other items abandoned on this stretch of road.

The spokesmen thinks that people have been entering at night and throwing trash bags behind the gate because the area is secluded.

To combat the problem, the group employed a welder to add an addition to the gate, preventing pedestrians from accessing the cemetery via Rockland Street. The spokesmen said the new portion of the gate was installed about two weeks ago, and the four other gates remain open. Walkers and their dogs are still allowed in the cemetery.

Then, during the week of Aug. 17, a portion of the chain link fence that runs along the right hand side of the main gate was cut. About two links’ worth of the fence was removed in a vertical cut. That opening was then peeled open, leaving about a three-foot opening. This incident was filed in a police report dated Aug. 20.

“They even took the fence with them. This is not a two-second job. You have to cut every one of those links,” he said.

The spokesmen said the hole was patched, but this, too, was cut. Another, sturdier patch has since been installed. On the night of Aug. 20, property inside the cemetery was vandalized.

The spokesmen said a large rock blocks a gap in the corner of the fence that runs along Bush Street. On the morning of Aug. 21, he found this rock pushed over and the hydraulic lines of a backhoe had been cut. The backhoe, which is owned by a private contractor, had been parked at the cemetery because there were repairs being made to the roadway.

Detective Kyle Costa of the Dartmouth Police confirmed this vandalism in a report dated Aug. 21.

“Both have been confirmed. There was destruction to the fence and then destruction to some hydraulic hoses on a piece of heavy machinery,” said Costa.

The spokesmen said he doesn’t want the vandalism to escalate to a point where all the gates in the cemetery need to be shuttered.

“We’d like people to know and keep an eye out as to what’s going on,” the spokesmen said. “We didn’t close that gate for malicious reasons.”

Detective Costa of the Dartmouth Police Department said the investigation is ongoing and could not comment further.