Graffiti Incidents Decline by One-Third in 6-Month Period

Graffiti incidents here have dropped by more than one-third during the first half of the year, compared with the same period in 1993.

Residents reported 347 incidents of graffiti from January through June, down from 557 during the same six-month span last year.

“It has been six months since the (Northridge) earthquake and we still don’t see the incidents like we used to,” said Kevin Tonoian, who coordinates the city of Santa Clarita’s graffiti abatement efforts. “I think it’s a combination of a lot of efforts.”

Tonoian credited work by Santa Clarita’s Pride Committee, whose volunteers clean up graffiti, and prevention efforts by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Santa Clarita Valley station, and the Santa Clarita Anti-Gang Task Force.

This week’s report on graffiti wasn’t the first time that city officials have learned of the local decline in graffiti.

Organizers of Santa Clarita’s fourth annual Teen Spring Clean, held in May, struggled to find enough of the vandalism to keep dozens of volunteers busy for a few hours one Saturday morning. The participating youths ultimately spent much of the time planting trees along Soledad Canyon Road in Canyon Country.

Later in May, the City Council was comfortable enough with anti-graffiti efforts to halve the cash awards offered for information about graffiti vandalism.

Established in April, 1993, the city program paid rewards in $250 increments for information about anyone writing graffiti in the city, up to a maximum of $1,000, if a suspect was ultimately convicted. Rewards are now $125 each to a maximum of $500.

Despite the drop in graffiti, Tonoian said the city plans to continue its efforts to stop the vandalism in the future.

“There’s always the possibility it could pick right back up,” he said.