Writing’s on the Wall for Campus Taggers : Santa Ana Schools, Police Have Teamed Up to Identify Vandals, Cut Down on Graffiti

The success of the Santa Ana Unified School District in curbing the amount of graffiti on everything from books to walls demonstrates the value of communication, in this case of school officials talking with city police.

For the last nine months, the district and police have joined forces to crack down on “taggers” who put their initials or their gang’s monikers on school property. Those caught vandalizing property are arrested, ordered to pay restitution and sent through the juvenile court system or the Santa Ana Police Department’s community service diversion program for first-time offenders.

The results so far are heartening, with the 45 schools reporting less tagging and more arrests. It is important to send students a message that vandalism will not be tolerated and to back up the words with swift action.

Officials said that in the past it was difficult to catch vandals. The school district’s own four-member police force was understaffed and usually had no idea who was spray-painting buildings. Unless police got lucky, the taggers got away.

For their part, city police said they were not aware how extensive graffiti was in the schools. But at Carr Intermediate School three years ago, the problem got so bad that custodians started each day with special cleaning equipment and supplies. In a diversion of time and money that could have better been spent elsewhere, the custodians roamed the campus spraying over graffiti.

The Santa Ana Police Department has a graffiti task force, whose members have worked with some Santa Ana schools since 1992. Last year they wisely extended their sharing of information on vandals to the entire school district. The police have a list of all taggers arrested and the initials of the various teams of taggers that plague the district. Schools can forward a picture of the graffiti and, if police recognize the names or initials, it is easier to make an arrest.

Last fall, task force members Mona Ruiz and David Marshall staked out Roosevelt Elementary School and caught seven boys who they said were responsible for $7,000 worth of vandalism at the school and another campus. The school’s principal, Nadine Rodriguez, said the officers had “done a world of good” and the graffiti problem was lessening.

Police and the school district are also trying to increase the fines imposed on taggers and their parents. That is appropriate. Graffiti is a blot on our buildings and other forms of property; students should be shown early that it is unacceptable.