• Goal 1: Stop Graffiti

• Goal 2: Prosecute Graffiti Taggers

An undercover detective with the Redondo Beach Police Department makes good use of FlashCAM-880 systems to catch graffiti taggers. His conviction rate to-date is 100%!

Graffiti in this California beach city is a combination of ordinary taggers and gang taggers. A small produce shop kept getting its truck tagged as it was parked next to the business over night. The owner had spent over $3,000 painting over the graffiti and finally gave up. The detective had city workers clean the graffiti from the truck, then installed a FlashCAM at the site. The truck remains graffiti-free even though the camera system was relocated after two weeks.

The high-resolution pictures from the FlashCAM are used to ID suspects who are then classified into categories: city resident, on probation, gang member, etc. Then a police officer visits the suspected tagger’s home. Many parents are either surprised or defensive. Some will allow a search of the juvenile’s room where graffiti paraphernalia is generally found.

The state of California has two laws on the books that help in the prosecution of graffiti offenders. First was the change in the amount of damage that is classified as felony from $5,000 to $400. Most multiple tags can reach the $400 level due to the cost of clean up. The second important law is the “Gang Enhancement” law, 186.22(A) that adds two years in sentencing for any crime that enhances the gang. For example, gang tagging or marking a territory falls under this law, so a six months sentence would automatically become two years and six months.

Another important component of the Redondo Beach program is a close relationship with people in the Street Department who provide FlashCAM “installation and move” support. This is an informal relationship and it’s the “let’s get things done” attitude that makes things run smoothly. The FlashCAM-880s, good police work and some supportive laws help Redondo Beach in the ongoing battle to reduce graffiti.

FlashCAMs used successfully to battle graffiti

The Code Enforcement group in Bakersfield, CA uses six FlashCAM 880s in their war against graffiti. Terry Buss, Code Enforcement, reports, “The wireless download feature makes the systems easy to use. Once a week we download pictures from each camera.” In high traffic areas they might have up to 400 pictures. Some FlashCAMs are installed at schools to stop graffiti. The pictures are given to school police who identify and intervene with the student in an effort to divert them from further bad behavior and from joining gangs.

Winning strategy to stop graffiti

Officer Craig Hentcy, Whittier, CA Police Dept. has a winning strategy. He rotates locations of a FlashCAM-880 to stop graffiti. The unit has been used in an alley, overlooking a billboard, at a water reservoir, and in all instances the graffiti stopped. When the FlashCAM is moved to a new location, the original location remains graffiti-free for some time.

Officer Hentcy said, “The quality of the photos from the FlashCAM-880 is outstanding. We’re also getting clear pictures of license plate numbers.” When he ran one of the license numbers it was revealed that it belonged to a person on probation. Which begs the question, “What was he doing in the alley known for high drug traffic?”

Stopping graffiti at skateboard park

A new restroom at the skateboard park in Dinuba, CA was hit with graffiti inside and out. It cost $450 in material and labor to clean and repaint it. Then the taggers struck a second time during the same week, so the expense of cleanup totaled almost $1,000. Park Director Kristine Kaunzinger had a FlashCAM-880 installed at this location during the day when a lot of kids were at the park. They noticed that the kids were watching them closely and then the cell phones came out. A park employee overheard one kid reporting to someone on the other end of the phone that a camera was being installed. To date there has not been any more graffiti at the skateboard park. A second camera was installed at a public works building that was being closed. It was used to store old vehicles and some equipment. There had been several break-ins and damage at this out of the way facility. Since the FlashCAM-880 was installed there have not been any further incidents.