Lakewood Votes Rewards for Turning In Graffiti Vandals

Beset by an inexplicable surge in graffiti, Lakewood has decided to follow the lead of several other Southeast cities and offer rewards to people who help catch graffiti vandals.

The City Council last week unanimously approved a reward of up to $500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a graffiti vandal.

In addition to the reward, the city installed a 24-hour telephone hot line--925-HELP--for residents to call to report graffiti. Officials also have asked leaders of the city’s volunteer crime prevention Neighborhood Watch program to be on the lookout for graffiti writers.

“We are treating this like war. We’re sending a symbolic message: Don’t do graffiti in Lakewood,” Assistant City Administrator Michael Stover said.

“The reward is designed to encourage people to contact law enforcement,” Stover said. Lakewood contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for law enforcement services.

The city has set aside $5,000 in its reward fund. While the maximum award is $500, the amount given in each individual case will depend on the value of the property damaged. The city administrator will determine the amount.

Stover said the residential community of 75,000 has recently experienced an increase in graffiti writing for unexplained reasons. He said officials are trying to blunt the efforts of vandals before things get out of hand.

In February, 1989, there were 67 reports of graffiti in the city, compared to 274 in February this year, Stover said.

Stover said the markings are not the gang etchings that plague many cities in the area, but are “individual” writings of “free-lancers.”

He said the city will also seek through the courts to recover the reward money from the convicted vandals, along with the cost of removing the graffiti.

Graffiti is a misdemeanor in most cases. The maximum penalty for property damage of less than $5,000 is a $5,000 fine and one year in County Jail. Damage of more than $5,000 is considered a felony and can result in a $10,000 fine and a year in state prison.

Lakewood joins a number of other cities that offer rewards. The amounts vary and depend on the amount of the property damage.

Cerritos offers a maximum reward of $5,000. Long Beach gives a maximum reward of $500. South Gate and Bellflower give flat rewards, regardless of the amount of damage to the property. South Gate’s award is $500 and Bellflower’s is $750.

Bellflower has never given an award, and information on how much Long Beach has given could not be obtained last week. Since the start of the Cerritos reward program two year ago, the city has issued a total of $200 in awards, public information coordinator Michele Wastal said.

Since July, 1989, South Gate has issued 27 awards, administrative assistant Kevin Justen said.

While rewards might be helpful, they do not work in all cases.

Compton offered a $300 reward last year but discontinued it, said Bobby Boyce, director of the general services.

“We found that the reward does not work. Citizens concerned with retribution (from vandals), whether real or imagined, were afraid to report them,” Boyce said.