Ordinance targets graffiti vandalism

Louisville,KY,USA

By Joseph Gerth
jgerth@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

Two graffiti-weary Metro Council members want to make it illegal for anyone under 18 to buy spray paint or permanent markers in Louisville.

Last night Councilmen Dan Johnson and Glen Stuckel introduced their graffiti ordinance, which also prohibits juveniles from having spray paint, markers and etching acid on public property — unless a responsible adult is with them.

"I'm tired of our expressways looking like weird art all the time," said Johnson, D-21st District.

The ordinance also would require property owners to remove graffiti from their homes or businesses or allow the city to do it for them.

Strong laws elsewhere

But the ordinance falls well short of what other communities have done to get a handle on graffiti, and one city official in Albuquerque, N.M., said the Louisville approach won't go far.

And a local civil-rights advocate said she is concerned that the ordinance goes too far — hindering people who want to use spray paint, etching acid and permanent markers for legitimate reasons.

Graffiti ordinance Provision: Juveniles can't purchase — and businesses can't sell them — spray paint, etching acid or indelible markers. Penalty: $20 fine. Provision: No one can have spray paint, etching acid or indelible markers on public or private property if they intend to deface property. Juveniles can't possess spray paint, etching acid or indelible markers unless they are with a responsible adult. Penalty: Up to $500 fine. Provision: Property owners must remove graffiti within 10 days after the Louisville metro government notifies them or sign a waiver allowing the government to remove the graffiti, free of charge. Penalty: Property owners who don't remove graffiti or sign a waiver must pay for metro government's costs to remove graffiti.

Johnson and Stuckel, R-17th, said they may try to strengthen penalties against businesses that sell graffiti paraphernalia to children but said they doubt the council has the political will to make additional changes.

Stuckel said that city officials estimate that 20 percent of the graffiti in Louisville is gang-related but that the other 80 percent is from "young adults who just want to ... have their work seen by other people." He said the city spent about $25,000 last year removing graffiti.

In Albuquerque, Stella Candelaria, associate director of the solid-waste department, said that city has a multipronged attack on graffiti artists.

"Taggers," as they are known, can be fined criminally and also sued in civil court. And offenders are sentenced to 100 hours of community service.

Albuquerque city recently filed a $212,000 lawsuit against one tagger who has been working in the city for several years. Candelaria said the city maintains a database that catalogs all the identifying marks found on graffiti in the city.

When police finally catch someone responsible for a certain tag, they can search their computer records and find every tag for which that person might be responsible.

Candelaria said that her city knows that it will never collect on many of the lawsuits but that a judgment against the tagger will make it difficult for him or her to buy a car or a house as an adult.

Albuquerque also requires businesses selling spray paint and other items that can be used in graffiti to keep them behind a counter and not to sell them to minors. Businesses that don't comply can be fined up to $1,000, Candelaria said.

The city also removes all graffiti within 24 hours of its discovery.

The Stuckel-Johnson ordinance allows a $500 fine for those who are found to have graffiti materials with intent to use them illegally and for minors who have the materials without the consent of an adult.

There is a $20 fine for businesses that sell to minors and no provisions for suing taggers in civil court.

Both Johnson and Stuckel said they may try to increase the fine on businesses but doubt that the council would make businesses keep spray paint and other items behind counters.

Stuckel and Johnson said that they had not considered filing civil suits against graffiti artists but that the council might look into it.

24-hour turnaround

Candelaria said that Albuquerque has found it worthwhile to have stores help block the sale to minors and that strong fines for businesses that don't comply help make its law work.

She also said she believes the proposed Louisville ordinance allows graffiti to remain visible for too long.

"The biggest deterrent is the 24-hour turnaround. You've got to convince them that they are wasting their time and material," she said of the vandals.

But Beth Wilson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, said she worries that the proposed ordinance is an "overreaction" — a "blanket policy" that punishes law-abiding citizens more than criminals.

Helene Kramer, a Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman, said it is hard to catch taggers because they work so quickly. But she said it would be good for police to have more tools to prosecute graffiti artists when they are caught.