Vandalism
Yesterday the RGJ ran this article about a growing vandalism problem in the Reno area, a problem which sometimes goes under the making-it-sound-way-cooler-than-it-really-is label of "tagging." I find this activity particularly aggrivating because it's common in my neighborhood and frankly it makes the place look really trashy. Near as I can tell, it consists of waiting until no one is looking, then spray-painting a set of initials or some other sort of marking on other people's property.
Tagging is different from gang-related graffiti; gang graffiti is mostly about marking turf and in this town seems to be primarily a phenomenon that exists in the Latino community. Tagging, to the surprise of many people, is something that is done mostly by white guys. Quite a few of these guys running around at night spray-painting initials on other people's property have regular jobs, kids, and although most are young or young-ish they are often older than you might expect--I saw one in court the other day who was older than me, and I'm 32.
I'm somewhat mystified as to what these guys are getting out of this. They claim that what they are doing is art, but that is clearly just a silly rationalization--sorry, but there's nothing artistic about repeatedly spray-painting the same set of initials dozens and dozens of times, even if it is occasionally done in a hard-to-reach place (these yabbos seem to think this earns them more points).
So what is this all about? Is it pure ego-gratification? Have these guys just never outgrown the whole adolescent "angry and not sure why" phase of life? Is this is just pointless rebellion, a highly visible but ultimately insignificant way of sticking it to The Man? Does it make otherwise-uninteresting lives somehow feel more daring, dangerous or meaningful, the same sort of urge for petty thrills that spurs young girls to shoplift things that they have money to pay for and don't even need? I don't really know what motivates them, but I do know two things: 1. Spray-painting initials on things is not very difficult or impressive, and 2. This pointless criminal activity has resulted in over half-a-million dollars worth of damage in the last year in the Reno area.
Tagging is different from gang-related graffiti; gang graffiti is mostly about marking turf and in this town seems to be primarily a phenomenon that exists in the Latino community. Tagging, to the surprise of many people, is something that is done mostly by white guys. Quite a few of these guys running around at night spray-painting initials on other people's property have regular jobs, kids, and although most are young or young-ish they are often older than you might expect--I saw one in court the other day who was older than me, and I'm 32.
I'm somewhat mystified as to what these guys are getting out of this. They claim that what they are doing is art, but that is clearly just a silly rationalization--sorry, but there's nothing artistic about repeatedly spray-painting the same set of initials dozens and dozens of times, even if it is occasionally done in a hard-to-reach place (these yabbos seem to think this earns them more points).
So what is this all about? Is it pure ego-gratification? Have these guys just never outgrown the whole adolescent "angry and not sure why" phase of life? Is this is just pointless rebellion, a highly visible but ultimately insignificant way of sticking it to The Man? Does it make otherwise-uninteresting lives somehow feel more daring, dangerous or meaningful, the same sort of urge for petty thrills that spurs young girls to shoplift things that they have money to pay for and don't even need? I don't really know what motivates them, but I do know two things: 1. Spray-painting initials on things is not very difficult or impressive, and 2. This pointless criminal activity has resulted in over half-a-million dollars worth of damage in the last year in the Reno area.
posted by Yukon Sully | 8:34 PM
5 Comments:
Growing up in LV it was pretty common place, but I think that's why I get so upset when I see it in our little mountain town. I don't want Reno to become another LV...this will force me to move to Elko (Lamoille I wouldn't mind), and until they get a Costco I'm not going.
Perhaps you could comment on the trend to law enforcement now holding the victims of this crime (as well as theft of grocery shopping carts) criminally liable for the cleanup of this crime. I see that Sparks is going to begin fining store owners when their carts are stolen and found discarded.
It strikes me as upside down that local government seems to do nothing about the people that commit these crimes, yet come down with jackboots on the victims.
JD
While I sort of agree with your premise JD, I have to tell you that the whole abandoned shopping cart phenomenon is another big pet peeve of mine. I have heard of the new law in Sparks but haven't read it. Although it is probably practically impossible for stores to make sure no one is stealing their carts, I don't really have a problem with at least requiring the stores to come remove their carts when they are found cluttering up local neighborhoods. It is their property, after all.
As for not doing anything about the perpetrators, well, I don't want to get too far into job specifics but trust me when I tell you that the sort of people who steal shopping carts (an item which would have no day-to-day value to most people) are often the sort of people who go to jail on a pretty regular basis for a variety of things, but I'm not actually sure that it does much good. If someone is a dysfunctional alcoholic or mentally ill then fining them money is pointless and if you assign them community service, in a lot of cases they just won't show up. We can stuff these people into our overcrowded jails, but at a certain point a lot of them don't care and all that really amounts to is giving them a warm place to live and three meals a day at public expense, only to turn them back out to start the cycle again when their sentance is up. Which sort of brings us to the Murray Barr situation two postings up.
"Item 8.2 Public Hearing and 2nd reading of Bill No. 2481, an ordinance amending Chapter 7 of the Sparks Municipal Code, requiring a mandatory retrieval system for shopping carts – the draft ordinance obligates retailers with more than 25 shopping carts on site to establish a self-policed shopping cart retrieval program or pay to the city a shopping cart retrieval fee as a condition of the renewal of a business license. The staff proposal allows local retailers 5 free cart retrievals a month. For six or more carts in a month, the amount charged would vary according to the number of shopping carts retrieved. Council voted 4-1 to approve the ordinance with a delayed start of April 1, 2006, and a review after six months and one year."
http://www.ci.sparks.nv.us/about/news/?newsid=259
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I defer to your expertise on the subject of being judgement proof. But there is a significant trend in law enforcement at all levels to penalize victims of all manner of crimes precisely because they have the means.
A car thief steals a car with the keys in it, the owner is cited but it's "catch and release" for the repeat offender. Teen spray paint vandals are caught, but no effort is made to force restitution to the victims. (the property owner must clean up the mess or risk fines and liens on his property).
Stores are relucant to come down on customers stealing their carts, but the police could easily treat this the same as drinking in public. They force the offender to pour out his bottle and deposit the container in the trash. I would suggest the police force cart thieves to dump the contents of the cart on the ground and return the cart to the store. When they have a note from the store, they can pick up what property they can carry. Who's the best person to confront someone wheeling a Safeway cart down fourth street?
On the other hand, we can establish a new bureau of shopping cart enforcement, hire staff, write regulations, make stores buy a permit, and punish any store that fails to comply.
I have a good idea which way things will end up.
JD
Just a follow up on the news:
"A Reno man who earlier was placed on one year's probation for defacing scores of buildings and vehicles with graffiti in January was sentenced to two years in jail today for committing the same crime again."
I'm not sure if anyone ever goes back to old archives...but I remebered this one.
http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/3385841.html
JD
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