Posts Tagged ‘San Diego Graffiti’

Vista officials declare war on graffiti writers

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

Vista authorities have their own message for taggers:

“We want them to know that we’re going after them, and it’s going to cost them a lot of money — not only that but jail time,” said Elvys Cabrera, the graffiti investigator for the Vista sheriff’s station.

The arrest Monday of a 16-year-old boy who is believed to be responsible for $100,000 in damage from graffiti vandalism over the past year marks the latest of more than a dozen arrests by Vista deputies since March.

The boy has been booked into Juvenile Hall on 232 counts of felony vandalism. The Sheriff’s Department is investigating 85 other acts of vandalism that also may be connected to the teenager, Cabrera said.

The latest arrest was significant, because no one else in recent memory has come close to causing as much damage as the suspect arrested Monday, Cabrera said. Last week, deputies arrested a tagger allegedly responsible for $40,000 in damage over a two-year period.

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Posted in California Graffiti, Graffiti News, Jail Time, Pig Enforcement, Politics, Street Bombing, Who Got Bagged? | No Comments »

Complaints about graffiti finally get attention of city’s Street Division

Monday, September 22nd, 2008

THE PROBLEM: Joe Strusienski regularly rides along the bike path that leads to Ocean Beach. The scenery along the San Diego River and points west to Dog Beach is glorious, save for graffiti in large block letters on the underside of the West Mission Bay Drive bridge.

Many months ago, the name “Ray Lucus II” was painted in black letters on the south-facing side of one pylon, and the letters “HCK” were painted in light blue on another pylon.

Strusienski said he started calling the city’s graffiti hotline six months ago, but nothing has been done. “It’s not supposed to be there,” he said. Equally frustrated is Larry Young. He started calling the graffiti hotline in July about graffiti on a stop sign at the northeast corner of Kamloop and Moraga avenues in Clairemont.

STATUS: Here’s a fact most San Diegans probably don’t know: The graffiti hotline does not take care of graffiti on city-owned property. That job falls to the city’s Street Division.Norma Medina of the city’s Graffiti Control Program said the office refers calls regarding graffiti on city property to the Street Division. It’s unclear where the ball was dropped in these two instances.

Hasan Yousef, deputy director of the Street Division, said the graffiti on the stop sign was quickly removed, but the painting on the bridge is more difficult.

Yousef said Caltrans makes equipment to reach out-of-the-way places available to cities twice a year, but he said he does not want to wait that long. Because the city does not have equipment that can reach the spot, Yousef intends to hire a contractor to paint over graffiti on the bridge and in other difficult locations within 30 days. Strusienski suggested that the city use a flatboat and said he would help. For liability reasons, Yousef ruled this out. Yousef said he wants to find a way to keep taggers from defacing the pylons again. The city has already removed graffiti from the area once, but it returned within two months.

[Via:www.signonsandiego.com]

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Posted in California Graffiti, Graffiti Cleanups, Graffiti News, Pig Enforcement, Politics, Street Bombing, Who's Up? | No Comments »

Crackdown on graffiti gets preliminary OK

Friday, May 23rd, 2008

Tougher penalties in new regulations

By Helen Gao
SAN DIEGO – Graffiti vandals will have a harder time shoplifting spray paint and broad-tipped indelible markers under new regulations that have received preliminary approval from the San Diego City Council.

The revisions also include tougher penalties for graffiti vandalism. The changes will be adopted after a second reading that could take place as early as next week.

The new regulations will require stores to keep items that are used for graffiti either in a locked display case or in an enclosed area behind a service counter, out of easy reach of minors and shoplifters.

Currently, such items can be left in the open as long as they remain under constant supervision by an employee. However, the city’s code compliance department has indicated that vendors are not providing constant supervision.

Under the updated ordinance, markers with a tip 4 millimeters or broader and that use non-water-soluble ink must be secured. Other items that are already regulated as potential graffiti tools include aerosol paint and glass-etching products.

The ordinance, which got preliminary approval last week, also updates the municipal code by incorporating state penalties for graffiti offenses. Under those guidelines, vandals can be charged with a felony and get a state prison sentence of up to three years, pay up to $10,000 in fines and full restitution to victims and perform community service. State law also allows enhanced penalties for defacing cemeteries and houses of worship.

The municipal code, as it stands today, provides only for misdemeanor prosecutions of graffiti violators.

The new ordinance further requires the offices of the mayor and city attorney to provide annual reports to the City Council Committee on Public Safety and Neighborhood Services about graffiti cleanup and enforcement efforts.

The city has budgeted $1.6 million this fiscal year for graffiti abatement, enforcement and public education. That amount does not include what other agencies and private-property owners spend. The city receives 2,300 to 3,000 requests for graffiti removal per month.

[Via:www.signonsandiego.com]

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Posted in California Graffiti, Graffiti Debate, Graffiti News, Graffiti Tooz, International, New Graffiti Laws, New York Graffiti, Pig Enforcement | 1 Comment »