Graffiti Surge Called Work of ‘Taggers’

Graffiti in Santa Ana surged to an all-time high in December, officials reported Monday, a trend they attributed not to gang members but to “taggers.”

City Manager David N. Ream said that the number of reports of graffiti increased 73% in December from the previous month, despite Santa Ana’s “model program” to remove graffiti.

“It happened just since Thanksgiving when school got out,” Ream said. “(But) unlike previous graffiti, this is not gang-related.”

Alarmed by the unprecedented increase, city officials added people to graffiti-removal teams and increased weekend efforts.

The city now spends $850,000 yearly on graffiti removal, and the figure could top $1 million, Ream said.

“We really don’t know how long this is going to continue,” he said. “The only way to deal with this is to get it down immediately.”

Police Chief Paul M. Walters, who chairs the countywide law-enforcement association, said that surrounding cities have experienced similar increases in graffiti vandalism, and he concurred that the new taggers are not gang members.

“It’s a very popular, in vogue, thing to do,” he said. “The names you see in Anaheim, Mission Viejo and Laguna Niguel will be the same names you see in Santa Ana.”

Walters said local law enforcement officials will consider this week whether to fund a major education campaign to inform the public about graffiti and gang activity. A separate 18-minute video on tagging was recently prepared and is about to be distributed to area schools.

Walters said that campaign is necessary so people recognize tagging “and don’t mistake it for gang activity and become fearful, because it has no relationship to gang activity.”

At the meeting, Santa Ana resident Richard Kirwan complained to the council about graffiti blight in his neighborhood and said, “I fear, my neighbors fear, we’re losing the battle.”

Mayor Daniel H. Young said he became alarmed recently when he saw graffiti crop up in his own neighborhood on the city’s south side. He suggested that flyers be distributed to schools reminding students of the penalties, and that neighborhood residents use video cameras to help catch the taggers.

City Atty. Edward J. Cooper said that if minors are caught spraying graffiti, their parents can be held liable and be forced to pay up to $5,000 for each offense.

City Councilman Thomas E. Lutz suggested that the city offer rewards for information leading to the arrest of taggers.

Councilman Ted R. Moreno added that convicted taggers should be forced to work on graffiti removal teams and that their parents should join them.