Graffiti victims must act to catch offenders

John C. Daly
Coral Springs
Posted December 21 2006

I challenge the author of Saturday's letter, "What can we do to stop graffiti taggers?" that public officials are "feckless" in their pursuit of graffiti taggers. Detectives from the Coral Springs Police Department, in conjunction with the State Attorney's Office, pursued and captured two different taggers who vandalized my property. When the dust settled, I was paid just compensation for my loss.

After becoming enraged when my property was damaged, I educated myself about graffiti and took action. I talked to other property owners who were victims and found out that most of them never reported the crime but simply painted over the graffiti. They did so because of city ordinances that fined property owners if the graffiti was not removed within a certain time period. I urged property owners to report the crime, have the evidence documented, and then keep a running tabulation of the cost in both time and money. These simple actions will help public officials build a strong case against offenders.

Beyond citizen participation, there are other aspects of the graffiti problem that must be addressed. Punishment for graffiti taggers should include loss of driving privileges until the age of 18. This punishment has been quite effective in other jurisdictions around the country. Also, addressing the graffiti subculture and punishing companies that sell graffiti-related products should be a priority. These products should be taxed like cigarettes and alcohol because they are part of a greater effort to corrupt our impressionable youth and take their money while they do it.

Most pivotal is parental involvement. Know where your kids are, what they are wearing and why they are wearing it, and who they are hanging out with. This is a no-brainer, but, unfortunately, a lot of parents have no brains. I was stunned to find out that a parent of one of the offenders in my case was purchasing spray paint for his son, "the artist."