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Tuesday
08Jul2008
90 per cent of graffiti police investigate is ‘hip hop’
July 8, 2008
The purist steals their supplies, practises diligently at home and keeps a record of their work. They sign off with a tag — a moniker, symbol, letters or words by which they wish to become known by their peers. Some consider it art, others consider it visual pollution.
Either way, Lethbridge regional police are educating themselves to have a much better understanding of the magnitude and impacts of graffiti in the community. Two constables, Michael Darby and Kip Lewis, recently attended a conference on graffiti.
According to Darby, there are many different classifications of graffiti, like socio-politician, art-based, gang and hate, but much of the graffiti in Lethbridge is referred to as “hip-hop” which takes up about 90 per cent of police investigations.
Other than rubber gloves, cans of spray paint, markers, stencils, stickers and a hoodie, a graffiti artist’s greatest ally is the cover of the night, making them difficult to catch in the act. Many of them photograph or video tape what they do and practise their tag at home before putting it on display for the public eye.
A typical profile of a graffiti artist is a white male, aged anywhere from 12-40 years old, and is described as self centred and compulsive, with a criminal mentality.
Why they do it, says Darby, depends entirely on the individual.
“Some people really believe they are good at what they do and see it as art, but where they put it is vandalism,” says Darby, who noted one person was responsible for 500 to 1,000 tags in the city and has been dealt with in the court system. “It’s a very compulsive and addictive thing for these individuals. It’s moreso done in their mind as intentional vandalism.”
Police are working with local paint stores to keep a closer eye on the products used for graffiti and who’s removing them from the store.
In addition, the city has dedicated $150,000 to remove graffiti from city-owned property. The best deterrent against the problem, however, is stiffer fines, such as a specified penalty of $2,500 for defacing property, added Darby.
“At this point, a significant monetary fine like that is much more than the punishment would be by going with a criminal code charge,” he says. “It would be very helpful for the community.”
Either way, Lethbridge regional police are educating themselves to have a much better understanding of the magnitude and impacts of graffiti in the community. Two constables, Michael Darby and Kip Lewis, recently attended a conference on graffiti.
According to Darby, there are many different classifications of graffiti, like socio-politician, art-based, gang and hate, but much of the graffiti in Lethbridge is referred to as “hip-hop” which takes up about 90 per cent of police investigations.
Other than rubber gloves, cans of spray paint, markers, stencils, stickers and a hoodie, a graffiti artist’s greatest ally is the cover of the night, making them difficult to catch in the act. Many of them photograph or video tape what they do and practise their tag at home before putting it on display for the public eye.
A typical profile of a graffiti artist is a white male, aged anywhere from 12-40 years old, and is described as self centred and compulsive, with a criminal mentality.
Why they do it, says Darby, depends entirely on the individual.
“Some people really believe they are good at what they do and see it as art, but where they put it is vandalism,” says Darby, who noted one person was responsible for 500 to 1,000 tags in the city and has been dealt with in the court system. “It’s a very compulsive and addictive thing for these individuals. It’s moreso done in their mind as intentional vandalism.”
Police are working with local paint stores to keep a closer eye on the products used for graffiti and who’s removing them from the store.
In addition, the city has dedicated $150,000 to remove graffiti from city-owned property. The best deterrent against the problem, however, is stiffer fines, such as a specified penalty of $2,500 for defacing property, added Darby.
“At this point, a significant monetary fine like that is much more than the punishment would be by going with a criminal code charge,” he says. “It would be very helpful for the community.”
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