Going After Graffiti : Platform : ‘Graffiti Make Us Feel Crummy’

HELEN SAMUELS; Founder, in Pasadena, of Earth Crew group of muralists and former graffiti writers.

Let’s say that graffiti is a cancer on the skin: that it’s something that looks bad, that it makes people feel bad. Let’s say the way to deal with it is to get out there and scrape the skin off every week or so, or to cover it with skin-colored coating so it doesn’t look so bad. Meanwhile, no one is focusing on what caused it--like poor diet, bad health habits, bad attitudes.

It seems inappropriate to be so concerned with the superficial aspects of things when the lives of young people are being affected so deeply. (Graffiti is) a crime to possessions or to public property, but that’s what it is superficially. The reality is that we have a vast alienation of youth who don’t feel like they’re a part of a community.

PETER SHUTAN; Los Angeles deputy city attorney and the prosecutor who put tagger “Chaka” behind bars.

It’s critical, if people want to save their neighborhoods, they have to erase that graffiti. In order for a resident to have pride in the community, you have to feel good about it. And graffiti make us all feel crummy about where we live. It’s important to send a message that we care. We can tell if two gangs are at war when they cross out the other’s graffiti. The most important thing is to clean it up as fast as possible. In the city, it is a war of wills. As soon as we let that graffiti stay, it will be everywhere. Their whole goal is to be seen. There’s talent out there, but it’s irrelevant when it’s on someone else’s property.

MARGIE TIRITILLI; Spokesperson for Caltrans.

It is probably the major problem that we face in the district. Freeway signs are so badly graffitied that if you are not familiar with it, you miss your turnout. There are some signs that can’t be cleaned. It can be $6,000 (to replace one). We take care of 597 miles of freeways in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. L.A. has 85% of the graffiti in the state of California.

It’s on tree trunks, it’s on pavement, even on contractors’ equipment. For the rehabilitation of the 110 (freeway), the contractor has two employees to just clean graffiti. We try to get it off as best we can, but maintenance people have other things to do.

FRANK DIPAOLA; LAPD officer, coordinator of the Police Assisted Community Enhancement program.

My partner, Dominick Colenzo, and myself started getting court referrals, and we started giving offenders 100 hours of community service with the police department. We try to bond with these kids, to tell them, “You are somebody. You don’t need to splash your name all over the freeway.” Then, we use (successful) kids as peer counselors.

We try to show kids that we’re not the enemy, to take them from point A to point Z. Several of them now want to be cops. They want to join our gang. That makes me proud.