Aug 19, 2008 5:23 am US/Pacific
New Ordinance To Make Taggers Liable For Damages
LOS ANGELES
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An ordinance holding taggers and their parents liable for civil damages will be up for final approval Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors.
CBS
An ordinance holding taggers and their parents liable for civil damages will be up for final approval Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors.
The supervisors last week tentatively approved the ordinance, which will go into effect in 30 days if approved Tuesday, County spokesman Brian Lew said.
Supervisor Gloria Molina spearheaded the proposed law after a Pico Rivera grandmother was gunned down Aug. 10, 2007, when she tried to stop a graffiti vandal from defacing a wall near her home.
The ordinance would allow the county to recover graffiti-related costs from the taggers or their guardians.
In response to the Pico Rivera killing, the county created a six-month pilot effort, known as the Vandalism Enforcement Team, which targeted taggers in Pico Rivera and the unincorporated area near Whittier.
Between Jan. 6 and June 30, the team arrested 168 taggers who had caused an estimated $345,000 in damage, according to sheriff's Capt. Michael Rothans.
The average cost of removing or painting over graffiti is $552 per incident, according to county Chief Executive Officer William Fujioka.
The effort to nab a tagger has cost taxpayers about $665 per offender.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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