Everyone can agree that graffiti is a blight on the community. The City of Santa Clarita has taken a “zero tolerance” attitude towards graffiti and has stepped up its eradication, enforcement and database systems in an effort to assure that graffiti incidents are reduced in the community, that perpetrators are apprehended, and that graffiti is removed quickly.
Over the last year, graffiti incidents increased dramatically in the Santa Clarita Valley. In response, the City of Santa Clarita has significantly increased its efforts to contain and remove graffiti, working closely with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s departments COBRA (Career Offender Burglary Robbery Assault) team and CIT (Community Interaction Team), as well as the District Attorney’s office and local judges.
By creating a Graffiti Removal Database, the City is able to identify the number of incidences of graffiti, how quickly the graffiti is removed, as well as track the location, identifiers and other vital information. During 2005, the community averaged 216 graffiti incidents per month. That level has since fallen to 152 incidents of graffiti per month.
This innovative database, created by the City’s GIS division, serves as an effective tool for the Sheriffs Department to monitor graffiti hot spots and subsequently identify and arrest taggers. Over the last year, the Sheriffs Department has made a stunning 125 arrests for graffiti vandalism. The typical punishment for a juvenile tagger is information probation, 40 hours of community service and an order to stay away from gangs.
To better assist the City and the Sheriffs Department in catching graffiti vandals, specialized surveillance equipment program will be installed in an unmarked city vehicle, to be used for undercover surveillance, which will provide the Sheriffs Department and the City with a sophisticates system that will increase the arrest and conviction rate for graffiti offenses.
At the request of the City Council, the City’s “restitution rate” for graffiti vandalism was raised to $155 per hour. This enables the courts to adjust the fine to reflect the degree of damage caused by tagging.
In an effort to assure that the courts were aware of the City’s stepped up graffiti abatement efforts, city councilmember Frank Ferry, along with city staff, met with the District Attorney’s office at the Juvenile Court in Sylmar. As a result, the courts suggested the City create a strong intervention program for first-time youth offenders. This will ultimately result in harsher sentences and require offenders to perform community service locally instead of in the San Fernando Valley.
On the graffiti removal side, the City immediately removes graffiti on public right-of-ways by use of a pressure washer, sandblaster, chemicals, graffiti towels or paint. When graffiti is on private property, the City’s Community Preservation division issues a “Notice of Graffiti,” requiring the property owner to remove the graffiti within seven days. If the graffiti is not removed after the second notice, the property owner is issued a $100 citation.
Other efforts currently underway by the City and the Sheriffs Department include a training program for volunteers on graffiti removal, ongoing “Teens Against Graffiti” community service projects, continuation of the $500 monetary rewards program for leads that result in the arrest and conviction of a graffiti vandal, and Spanish-speaking options on the City’s 25-CLEAN hotline.
The City is hiring a full time Graffiti Coordinator, which will replace two part time positions. The full time coordinator will focus on graffiti removal, outreach to the schools to create incentive programs and identify taggers, support training of volunteers, and support businesses and homeowners in the community in their graffiti removal efforts.
For more information about becoming a volunteer, the rewards program or to report graffiti, contact the City at 661-25-CLEAN.
