Riverside Keeps Heat on Taggers; 4 Suspects Arrested

In their ongoing crackdown on taggers that has led to more than 200 arrests since November, police Thursday arrested one man and three youths in hopes of putting another paint-armed team of vandals out of business.

The arrests, involving 20 police officers serving four search warrants, came after members of a tagger crew were seen painting the side of a city utility building with graffiti, then signing it with their moniker, said Detective Ron Wright. He is one of two officers working full time on the vandalism phenomenon that erupted here a year ago.

In November, the city declared tagging “visual terrorism” that extracts an economic toll on businesses and homeowners, and unveiled two enforcement programs--RAT (Riverside Against Taggers) and CATCH (Citizens Against Taggers Can Help).

Despite the successes--including successful court prosecutions--Wright said the problem continues.

“It’s a never-ending battle,” he said. “It’s like pushing Jello.”

On Thursday, police arrested Glenn Plenty Hawk, 18, on suspicion of probation violation from a previous tagging conviction, and three juveniles on suspicion of malicious mischief.

Unlike gang-related graffiti, used to identify and claim turf, tagger crews--who often cross economic, cultural and racial lines--paint property for the sake of notoriety and competition with other tagger crews.

“The more their work appears, the more notoriety they receive,” Wright said. “Painting on freeway signs is called ‘a heaven piece,’ because if the tagger slips and falls, he’s run over. Risk is a big element, and for hard-core taggers, it’s almost an addiction.”

City officials initially were concerned by the fiscal impact taggers were inflicting on property values. In one commercial center, all but one store is vacant because taggers have made the property unattractive to other tenants, Wright said.

In recent months, police have learned that some tagger crews have begun to arm themselves with weapons. During Thursday’s searches of four homes of suspected taggers, ammunition--but no guns--were found, Wright said.