BUENA PARK : Revised Graffiti Law Targets Vandals

City leaders are sending a strong message to graffiti vandals: It’s a crime to deface property.

If you’re prosecuted, you face a stiff sentence, and if you’re a minor, your parents will be held responsible.

The City Council recently amended the city’s graffiti ordinance, taking a more aggressive posture toward people who vandalize and deface property.

Police Chief Richard M. Tefank said among major changes in the city’s graffiti ordinance is that the vandal is liable for damages. If the person is a juvenile, the parent or guardian becomes responsible.

Tefank said the parent or legal guardian of a minor can be required to pay court costs up to $10,000.

“The thought is that this type of responsibility will encourage parents to educate young people that applying graffiti is against the law, and, in addition, that there’s a heavy financial burden that the parent or guardian is responsible for,” he said.

The new ordinance also increases criminal penalties that include community service of cleaning up graffiti and allows the council to establish a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of graffiti violators.

Tefank also said that the ordinance expands the definition of graffiti implements to include aerosol paint cans, felt-tip pens and any device that can etch or scribble into a surface.

In addition, businesses face new requirements for selling such items. Graffiti implements must be placed in a secure area where employee assistance is needed to buy the item.

“The vast majority of people we arrest for graffiti, when asked where they got the tools, seldom say they bought it,” Tefank said.

Tefank said the intent is to reduce the opportunity for these types of items to be stolen.

The council is expected to approve the final reading of the amended ordinance Feb. 7. The new ordinance is expected to go into effect in early March.