There are few crimes against
property that generate the anger, frustration and fear that graffiti vandalism
does. Both
the victims and their neighbors are outraged at the violation of property and
by the image of vandals and gangs roaming the neighborhood. Duluth has
been somewhat immune from a trend that has troubled so many cities nationwide,
however from time to time we notice an increase in graffiti. Like many of our crimes, the increase is
often perpetrated by one or two individuals.
Often citizens don’t realize the amount
of time police spend investigating non-glamorous crimes such as graffiti. Our officers arrest individuals for this
crime frequently. Some time ago department staff conducted a quick review of a
few juveniles charged and sentenced for vandalizing property with
graffiti. A juvenile who we determined
was a major graffiti vandal was caught after painting up a Piedmont area. He received six months of probation after
defacing a felony amount of public property (to the cost of thousands of
dollars) and ordered to pay restitution.
Another was apprehended after spray painting downtown; he received a
sentence of probation until he is 18 and ordered to pay restitution. A third graffiti vandal was caught a second
time only two weeks after being in court for doing the same thing. What is the answer to deal with the issue?
Well, in an effort to improve deal with repeat property crime offenders we have
been working closely with probation and others in the criminal justice system
to find grants to expand gps monitoring of non-violent offenders. GPS needs to be expanded in the use of
offender monitoring; we will continue to collaborate with our partners to find
funding for this important criminal justice tool.
We continue to investigate and apprehend those responsible
for graffiti vandalism. The vandals have
cost private and public property owners tens of thousands of dollars. Our officers investigating these cases are
photographing and documenting the damage done.
When we apprehend vandals we aggressively seek full prosecution and
strong sentences for each and every act.
In addition we encourage victims and neighborhood groups to become
involved in the legal process to ensure their voices are heard and the vandals
are held fully accountable for the damage they have done. Involvement in the process beyond arrests has
worked very well in Lincoln Park where a dedicated group of citizens works
tirelessly to ensure those causing problems are held accountable.
When graffiti occurs on your property
you are required by City ordinance to remove it in a reasonable time frame.
This ordinance is designed to help keep our neighborhoods free from
blight. You can also help by calling 911
immediately when you see suspicious activity or reporting those responsible for
vandalism to us.
We continue to see a decrease in the amount of college
parties. If there has ever been an
example of how collaboration can work - this is it. Working closely with our partners at UMD and
our City Council we built ordinances and changed student conduct rules to
address the issues associated with loud parties and underage consumption. Back in the 1990’s and to the mid 2000’s
officers would literally go from one loud college party to another. Back then, some 911 calls for loud parties
would entirely unanswered due to the volume. Today,
our party calls are about one fifth of what they were just 10 years ago. 
