• 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.