Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Citizen Action Credited for Decrease in Graffiti

Law enforcement authorities report one piece of good news has emerged in the city’s battle against increasing juvenile crime: Graffiti incidents, one of the area’s biggest concerns, are down 36% from a year ago.

Tougher laws and more community participation in graffiti eradication programs are in large part credited for the dramatic decrease in reported incidents, according to city and police officials.

Many graffiti vandals, for example, were scared off by residents who videotaped or photographed them defacing property, said Sgt. Lee White, head of the Career Offenders Burglary Robbery Apprehension (COBRA) team, which investigated gang crimes in the jurisdiction of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

Graffiti markings are often linked with gang activity, as vandals mar walls with gang monikers.

“It has pretty much disappeared,” he said, noting there were only 35 incidents of graffiti reported in September, compared to an average of more than 100 reports per month in 1993.

Reports of graffiti increased from 155 in 1992 to 1,228 in 1993, although sheriff’s officials said the larger figure is misleading because of a change in the way incidents were tallied. There were 357 reports of graffiti during the first six months of 1994, compared to 557 a year ago.

More people are volunteering for the city’s PRIDE committee, which removes graffiti and reports incidents to law enforcement officials, said Kevin Tonoian, the city’s graffiti abatement coordinator. He said the committee now has about 45 members, an increase of 25 percent in the past year.

Tonoian said the city has worked to make sure markings are removed within a day or two after being spotted, so they won’t attract more. In addition, he said PRIDE volunteers try to return the color and texture of the defaced area to its original state.

“Patches on a wall do nothing more than let someone know graffiti was there before and provides a spot for them to do graffiti again,” he said.

The city has made it illegal for minors to possess items such as spray paint and marking pens. Officials have also ordered the Sheriff’s Department to get tough on enforcing a night curfew for youths who are not at work or at legitimate entertainment facilities, such as movie theaters, Tonoian said.