Graffiti in Southside Park

What is the punishment for graffiti?

2008-11-06T20:32:34Z

In my previous articles, "Graffiti artists vs. property owners" and "How you can affect graffiti" (which you can view by clicking the Storyline tab to the right), the discussion played mostly on property owners, graffiti removal and costs involved. That's only a a part of the issues involved with graffiti. There's a lot I'd like to know about the person holding the spray paint. What happens when a tagger (the person colorfully broadcasting their moniker) gets caught for vandalizing property?

Under Penal Code section 594, the penalty given depends on the dollar amount of damage done. Essentially, the cost of property damages done by a tagger determines whether he or she is charged with a misdemeanor or a felony. The vandal is alloted a separate charge for each victim, so multiple victims (multiple tags across different properties) are not stockpiled into one single charge. If the amount of damage (for each charge) is less than $400, it's a misdemeanor and is punishable by up to a year in jail or a fine of up to $1,000. If the damage is more than $400, the offense may be charged as a felony, requiring a penalty of up to one year in prison or a fine of up to $10,000. Here's an illustration: If I spray painted LOWLY INTERN across the side of six different buildings, yet the cost of damages for each property was less than $400, I would be charged with a misdemeanor (most likely fined and the possibility of a light jail term, all decided without having to go to trial).

In any scenario, the vandal must pay the victim the full cost of repairs, and may be ordered to not only clean up the graffiti but keep the area clean for up to a year. If the vandal is a minor (under 18), this court order may fall onto the shoulders of the vandal's parents.

According to Charles Gonzalez, a District Attorney that deals with graffiti-related cases, the outcome of a graffiti case often depends upon the facts of the case, and therefore each case is approached individually. This is what's considered: The amount of damage, whether the graffiti is gang-related or threatening, the defendant's criminal background and likelihood of re-offending. The feelings of the victim are also taken into account. Like all instances in the criminal justice system, minors and adults are treated differently for graffiti cases. For a minor, the punishment can range from six months of unsupervised informal probation to actually becoming a ward of the state, which is a form of probation that could last until he or she turns 21.

What do you think about these penalties? Do you think they are ineffective? Too severe? Not severe enough? Please share in the dialogue and comment below.

How you can affect graffiti

2008-11-04T20:33:35Z

This article is a follow-up to "Graffiti artists vs. property owners." Please see "Graffiti artists vs. property owners" by clicking on the green Storyline tab to the right.

If you are a property owner in Sacramento, you can expect to be cleaning graffiti off your building at some point or another depending on where your property is situated. "Midtown typically has the highest incidence of graffiti," states Code Enforcement Officer Noel Eusebio. Midtown, along with neighboring areas, sees more graffiti simply because it's packed with people and buildings. Seems obvious, right? "Vandals looking for notoriety look for population and structurally dense environments," continues Eusebio. Since there will always be those in search for fame, what can property owners do to avoid being used as a vehicle for such 'stardom'?

Eusebio gives these helpful tips: If you are a property owner, re-assess your property. Ask yourself, "Why am I getting victimized?" In addition to removing the graffiti as soon as possible and making a police report (which you can do online), there are several simple things you can change to make your property less enticing, or even inviolable, to vandals. Make sure that your property is well-lit, and add barriers like fences to prevent easy-access to your property. Use color-matched paint to cover graffiti so that there are no signs of previous tags. When it comes to landscaping, creative solutions like vine-covered walls can act as a deterrent.

Is graffiti more a tenant of pop culture or gang culture?
A common question on the subject of graffiti is, "Are there any legal walls in Sacramento?" It's a good question because in cities like Portland, Oregon, these walls (commissioned by the city) give graffiti artists a legal outlet. In Sacramento, however, there are no legal walls due to it's "zero-tolerance" code. Eusebio points out that, although there are no legal walls, many art galleries or business owners commission outside murals, providing an excellent way for artists to be paid for their talent.

If legal walls and commissioned murals could be proven to lessen the amount of vandal-like graffiti, what conclusions might be drawn? How often is graffiti gang-related? Is there evidence that graffiti has a causal relationship with crime? Share your viewpoint by commenting below.

Graffiti artists vs. property owners

2008-10-15T19:38:13Z

The streets are blighted with mismatched paint. Large cream colored splotches speckle tan walls and if you were to stare directly into the side of a concrete building structure you would almost certainly find faint outlines of words, messages and names; all pressure-washed or bleached into a ghostly existence. While most property owners view graffiti as an unsightly blemish, is painting over that graffiti with a slightly different color much better?

It all depends on your perspective. While there are those who maintain that graffiti has an aesthetic value, there are others who call it a nuisance. Some people will urge you to recognize the artistry, or the underlying message graffiti presents. This message, yet another perspective declares, is a warning of gang activity, crime, and vandalism.

The City of Sacramento, through it's Graffiti Abatement Program, represents the latter point of view, as do many residents and business owners. One common concern is that graffiti marks impending crime. For instance, once a building has been tagged (that is to say, marked by a nickname or drawn on) with spray paint or other implements, that building may attract other sorts of crime in the immediate area. This belief is so present that the City of Sacramento has a strict graffiti ordinance for property owners, which demands that graffiti is painted over or removed in less than two weeks. Shannon McCabe, a Southside Park florist, finds it best to remove graffiti as quickly as possible because she and other business owners want the area to look nice and attract new commerce. Graffiti has already been removed several times from the building in which McCabe works, this year alone. Left-over paint has been used to cover the recent tags, so costs have been minimal. This is considered lucky, because the potential costs could be in the thousands.

Many citizens complain that too much time and tax dollars are wasted on the anti-graffiti effort. The annual cost to eliminate graffiti in the Sacramento area is over $1.5 million. That’s a lot of money, and it is questionable if any of the tactics used to curb graffiti actually work. Is there evidence that graffiti encourages crime? Or encourages gang activity? Is the city continually painting over this perceived blemish, while doing nothing truly proactive? Is this war between graffiti artists and business owners a dispute over property or visual space?