About 30 representatives met Friday in Gilroy for a regional law
enforcement and local elected officials meeting on graffiti, its
impact on communities and possible solutions at the City of Gilroy
Police Department at 7301 Hanna St.
About 30 representatives met Friday in Gilroy for a regional law enforcement and local elected officials meeting on graffiti, its impact on communities and possible solutions at the City of Gilroy Police Department at 7301 Hanna St.
Attendees included Luis Alejo, California 28th district assemblyman; Stephen Lowney, Santa Clara County district attorney; personnel from Gilroy Unified School District; and various county supervisors.
Police chiefs, personnel and probation officers from cities including Greenfield, Hollister, Morgan Hill, Salinas, Santa Cruz and San Jose were also present.
A roundtable discussion ensued, with a cache of preventative and combative strategies put on the table. The meeting was the first step in a regionwide effort to deal with vandalism. Some ideas included confiscating driver’s licenses for offenders and outreach programs.
Some of the ideas
– Enforcing an already existent vehicle code, which confiscates a graffiti offenders driver’s license. Lowney wants to simplify and improve this legislation to make it less complicated.
– Improving the process of tracking offenders
– Finding proactive alternatives for offenders with artistic abilities
– Organizing neighborhood and business watch patrols
– Enforcing public accountability where offenders must face and have dialogue with owners of damaged property
– Restricting store access to equipment that can be used for graffiti purposes
– Promoting anti-graffiti awareness at an early age
– Requiring the offender’s parents to participate in the cleanup
– Recycling signs that have been vandalized, instead of paying for new ones
– Identifying, focusing and communicating about high-risk individuals
– Taking away an offender’s car if they’re using it to transport graffiti materials
