Tagger Task Force Gets Check From Trust Fund
A Valley police support organization is the first beneficiary of a new trust fund set up to finance illegal sign and graffiti removal.
The LAPD Community Tagger Task Force received a $3,000 check from the fund Tuesday at a meeting of the Mid-Valley Community Council in Van Nuys.
The trust fund was established in March with $30,000 from the corporate owner of the House of Blues, a West Hollywood nightclub. The money was paid to settle a case brought by the city attorney against the company for posting illegal signs on public property in the San Fernando Valley and elsewhere in the city.
The task force was formed in 1994 to combat the blight of graffiti, said Officer Jerry Beck, who has worked with the group since its inception. Volunteers in police districts including North Hollywood, Foothill and Devonshire take pictures of graffiti and make police reports that help officers put together cases against taggers, Beck said.
The group will use the money to buy film, a digital camera, a computer and a printer to prepare evidence for criminal cases against taggers and sign violators.
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