GLENDALE : Rogan Is Co-Author of Paddling Bill

Assemblyman James Rogan (R-Glendale) is co-author of a bill that would allow juveniles convicted of graffiti vandalism to be sentenced to a couple of whacks with a wooden paddle.

The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange), is under consideration by the Assembly Public Safety Committee and Rogan said it is receiving widespread support.

Rogan said legislators were inspired to draft the initiative when American Michael Fay, 19, was caned in Singapore after he allegedly sprayed paint on cars with other foreign teen-agers last fall.

“The Fay incident crystallized the issue of corporal punishment for us and how well it worked,” Rogan said, recalling his high school days when students were sent to the principal’s office and flogged for various misdeeds.

Rogan, a former Glendale Municipal Court judge, was elected in May to the Assembly seat formerly held by Pat Nolan.

Under the proposed bill, judges could sentence juveniles convicted of graffiti vandalism with four to 10 whacks of a wooden paddle. Paddling sentences could be used in addition to more common sentences involving community service and monetary fines.

Rogan said he doubts juveniles will scoff at a paddling sentence, and adds that embarrassment caused by a public paddling may prevent juveniles from becoming repeat offenders.

The bill, if passed into law, would require a juvenile’s parents to administer the paddling sentence in front of the judge in a court open to the public. If, in the judge’s estimation, the parents don’t paddle hard enough, Rogan said, the bailiff can take over.

The measure is meant to discourage taggers and to rid communities of graffiti more efficiently than other, more affable sentences such as community service, sponsors said.

It’s important to stem the continuous tide of graffiti because it goes beyond vandalism and sends out a message that no one cares about the buildings it covers, and hence about the community, Rogan said.

Supporters of the paddling measure are unsure about the bill’s future, and said it must be approved by two Assembly committees and the full Assembly in order to be sent to the state Senate.