Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : New Penalties Proposed in Graffiti Fight : Vandalism: Task force wants to make parents liable for civil prosecution. It also seeks to make offenders pay for damage.
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SANTA CLARITA — A city panel has proposed tougher penalties for graffiti vandals and increased accountability for their parents.
Parents would be liable for civil prosecution, and could be ordered to participate in a parenting education program under a plan under consideration by Santa Clarita’s Anti-Gang Task Force.
Other ideas under consideration are making offenders pay for the damage they cause, requiring community service work, and suspending the driver’s license of offenders for up to a year.
Santa Clarita spends thousands of dollars per year to clean up graffiti--funding that could otherwise go to youth activities or other programs, said Asst. City Manager Ken Pulskamp, a task force member.
“We spend huge amounts of money taking down graffiti,” said Pulskamp. “It’s money that’s basically wasted.”
Task force members plan to discuss their ideas with community leaders and, with their support, work toward tougher legislation at the state and local government levels.
The suggestions echo some of those proposed by Los Angeles County’s Juvenile Justice Graffiti Committee, which was created in May and includes representatives from the L. A. district attorney’s office, Probation Department, Juvenile Traffic Court and Juvenile Court.
Raising awareness is important to making penalties an effective deterrent, said Dan Hanigan, head of the task force’s subcommittee on graffiti.
“Even if these (penalties) are being (enforced), it’s very doubtful that most minors and parents or guardians know they could be applied to them,” Hanigan said.
An average of 80 graffiti incidents now occur each month in Santa Clarita, ranging from scrawls on street signs to major vandalism, said Sgt. Carl Deeley, head of the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s station anti-gang unit.
The task force is planning a “zero tolerance” event in early 1994. Volunteers would attempt to remove all graffiti from the city and then clean up any markings that appear later within 24 hours.
Santa Clarita would run the program for one month to determine what resources are necessary to maintain that response level year-round, Pulskamp said.
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