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Fines to hit taggers, parents in wallets |
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AV Press |
| Date Posted: |
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Oct 10, 07 - 2:50 PM |
| Email: |
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jkoren@avpress.com |
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Antelope Valley |
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Fines to hit taggers, parents in wallets
Supervisors' county program to charge for graffiti cleanup
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Wednesday, October 10, 2007.
By JAMES RUFUS KOREN
Valley Press Staff Writer
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LOS ANGELES - Under a new county pilot program, graffiti vandals will risk more than criminal charges: They might have to face the wrath of mom and dad.
County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to establish civil fines and cleanup costs to be issued to graffiti vandals - or their parents, if the vandals are under 18 - and require vandals or their parents to appear before a county administrative hearing panel.
"This is just another tool we're going to utilize," said 1st District County Supervisor Gloria Molina, proposal co-author with 4th District County Supervisor Don Knabe.
The hearing panel would have civil authority and could impose fines or public service on parents or taggers, Molina said. "We're not eliminating any criminal prosecutions. We're using this to hold taggers accountable for defacing public and private property."
Molina said the program will start in the county's unincorporated areas, such as Quartz Hill and Littlerock - but that leaders from cities in the county, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, have expressed interest.
"I'm hopeful we can create something that's going to be effective," she said. "Before, (graffiti) was in the inner city, but we're now seeing it throughout the community."
In August, 57-year-old Maria Hicks, a resident of Molina's district, was shot to death while trying to stop graffiti vandals from tagging a wall in her neighborhood. Another of Molina's constituents was killed in a similar incident in March 2006.
"Both of them paid with their lives for trying to stop vandals from defacing property," Molina said in a statement, "and both killings have sparked tremendous outrage throughout the San Gabriel Valley."
Molina said on Tuesday that now is the time to get tough on graffiti. "We're not going to allow them to intimidate us. We need to make sure consequences for graffiti is going to be swift and meaningful for these kids who are carrying it out."
County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, whose 5th District includes the Antelope Valley, called graffiti a problem that "plagues all our districts."
Molina said the key is imposing penalties quickly - civil penalties can be enacted much more quickly than criminal, she said - and getting parents involved.
"Taggers should pay a stiff price for their crimes, and, in some cases, so should their parents," Molina said. "Once we start holding parents accountable, once we start asking for restitution, I think we're going to start changing a pattern.
"Most (taggers) are 12 years old, 13 years old - these are little kids doing it. If they don't get caught here, they go on to commit bigger and stronger crimes."
Tony Bell, an Antonovich spokesman, said graffiti is a major problem in the Antelope Valley.
"Juvenile offenders who are using the city streets and private property as a sketch pad to communicate gang messages are really hurting the quality of life for Antelope Valley residents," Bell said. "This is an effort from the county to employ serious sanctions and hold those people accountable."
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