Vandals spray painted more than 20 homes in Fredericton with peace signs over the weekend. (CBC)

About 20 homeowners in Fredericton weren't in the mood to give peace a chance when they awoke to find their homes spray-painted with black peace signs over the weekend.

Jennifer Patricien spent Monday morning scraping a large peace sign from the side of her home.

"[I'm] a little angry. We are new to the downtown. We just moved downtown, and we knew there would be a little bit more wildlife than where we used to live," she said.

"But, it's not too bad for us. I feel worse for the people who have vinyl siding who have a tougher time cleaning it up."

The homes were sprayed either late Friday night or early Saturday morning with either a peace symbol or a black streak of paint.

Fredericton police Cpl. Mike Barry said this act of vandalism was random, and not aimed at any group or person.

"We believe these are random acts. We don't believe for a second that anybody's been specifically targeted," he said.

Michael Boudreau, chair of criminology at St. Thomas University, said this kind of criminal activity is done "just for the fun of it."

"The random type of vandalism we see here tends to be thrill crimes — the idea that we can get away with something either as a group or as an individual we can do whatever we want, we won't get caught, we may even have some fun here," he said. "So it is very much a thrill."

This thrill act can result in a jail term or a heavy fine, but solving such crimes isn't easy.

Police usually rely on a tip or a witness to come forward, Barry said. They're asking for the public's help in nabbing the peace vandals