ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO: Standing Committee on City Services & Budgets

FROM: Chief Constable, Vancouver Police Department

SUBJECT: One-Year Update of the Anti-Graffiti Unit

RECOMMENDATION

COUNCIL POLICY

There is no applicable Council Policy.

PURPOSE

The 2002 report to Vancouver City Council recommended that the Vancouver Police Board report back to Council on the anti-graffiti strategy after one year. The purpose of this year-end report is to follow through on that commitment and outline the successes and effectiveness of the Vancouver Police Department Anti-Graffiti Unit.

SUMMARY

In April of 2002, Council supported the proposed Anti-Graffiti Plan for the Vancouver Police Department. The establishment of the Anti-Graffiti Unit was a progressive move, which recognized that addressing the graffiti problem has wider crime preventative implications. Before the Anti Graffiti Unit was proposed, there were a number of initiatives already underway in community groups and organizations around the City. While these groups provided a short-term response to graffiti, they lacked the coordination and consistency that was necessary to provide an effective long term deterrent. The Anti Graffiti Unit was developed to provide a focused, unified response to the problem of graffiti In Vancouver. The Vancouver Police Department staffed the two positions from the existing strength.

Working in partnership with the City's Graffiti Management Team, the Anti-Graffiti Unit has developed well thought out and effective strategies involving Education, Eradication and Enforcement. The implementation of these strategies has resulted in numerous accomplishments: educating police officers, citizens and community groups about graffiti, increasing the number of charges, forming working partnerships with various agencies, developing a suspect database, liaising with Crown Counsel, installing surveillance equipment, promoting crime prevention, and exploring new restorative justice measures. These foundation blocks will enable the Anti-Graffiti Unit to net even greater results in the upcoming year.

The tasks that the Anti-Graffiti Unit perform on a daily basis are multi-faceted and require the full attention of two police officers. The Unit is deployed at the street level and the current two member staffing is necessary for officer safety reasons. Ideally, the Anti-Graffiti Unit would like to have a part time civilian working with them; this would allow them to spend more time directly on police related duties and working within the community. A civilian could also facilitate the implementation of a restorative justice initiative and allow for more in-depth analysis and project co-ordination.

Significant inroads have been made in understanding the motivational force behind graffiti and the graffiti subculture itself. One of the biggest threats to the success of the program would be to lose continuity in enforcement efforts, which would result in a substantial increase in the amount of graffiti. An increase in graffiti would compound the significant expense that is associated with graffiti. One suspect can easily cause thousands of dollars worth of damage. The Anti-Graffiti Unit actively targets these individuals. The cost of supporting the Anti-Graffiti Unit within the Police Department is very low, especially when one considers the economic benefits it brings to the City of Vancouver.

Sustainable benefits have arisen as a result of the establishment of the Anti-Graffiti Unit. Over the past six months, several graffiti suspects have been identified and admitted their crimes to the Anti-Graffiti Unit. This intervention has been effective in deterring further criminal conduct. In terms of damage, this translates into cost saving measures. Additionally, these suspects are no longer taxing the justice system. The Anti-Graffiti Unit is an effective way to deliver a direct service to citizens of Vancouver. Not only does the Unit provide prevention advice, they also have first hand knowledge of suspects, and can complete thorough investigations. Property owners appreciate the service provided by the Unit and feel that the Police Department is interested in addressing their concerns. A well deployed, comprehensive anti-graffiti program reduces the incidence of this crime and benefits the overall policing efforts of the Vancouver Police Department. Focusing attention on graffiti vandalism demonstrates to potential vandals and other criminals, that police take graffiti seriously.

The successes that have been achieved in the last year are a result of dedication on the part of the Anti-Graffiti Unit, the Graffiti Management Team, associated agencies, community groups and concerned citizens. The Anti-Graffiti Unit is committed to intelligence-led policing and proactively trying to get to the root of the problem. Continued support will ensure that the Unit continues to deliver a cost efficient service to the citizens of Vancouver.

BACKGROUND

Graffiti has become a major problem for cities around the world. Graffiti impacts all of us. It is a quality of life crime that inspires fear, anger and dismay. Citizens are unable to decipher graffiti and begin to feel unsafe: They feel victimized and are appalled by the destructive and lawless act.

Graffiti is extraordinarily expensive. It is estimated that it would cost approximately four million dollars to remove all the existing graffiti in the City of Vancouver. Additionally, graffiti is linked to a cycle of crime and disorder. Targeting graffiti has a positive impact on crime reduction.

In late 2001, the City requested that the Vancouver Police Department research and present options that would assist in the eradication of graffiti. In April 2002, after presenting to Senior Management and the Police Board, two Detective Constables proposed an anti-graffiti plan to Council in tandem with the Engineering Department, which was accepted in its entirety. The Unit was staffed from the existing resources of the Police Department with start-up and ongoing non-salary operating costs approved by Council.

DISCUSSION

In late June 2002, the Anti-Graffiti Unit was set up in the Support Services Section of the Vancouver Police Department within the Property Crime Team. The anti-graffiti plan outlined the necessity of dealing with graffiti consistently in a co-ordinated manner both within and outside of the Police Department.

Initially there were eight objectives set out in the plan. To date, all the objectives have been met or exceeded. A brief summary outlining what has been done regarding each objective follows:

1. The departmental policy pertaining to graffiti investigations was written by the
Anti-Graffiti Unit. The policy was revised and approved by Planning and Research and the Police Board. It is presently in the Regulations and Procedure Manual.
2. Two police officers were selected to staff the Anti-Graffiti Unit. Both police officers are recognized as graffiti co-ordinators and have established a significant number of contacts.
3. The Anti-Graffiti Unit prepared and presented twelve training sessions for all of the patrol teams and several specialty squads. The Unit also made presentations to various agencies.
4. The Anti-Graffiti Unit developed an extensive database with over 300 graffiti suspects.
5. The Anti-Graffiti Unit worked with Deputy Crown Counsel to develop more successful prosecution strategies.
6. The Anti-Graffiti Unit developed innovative enforcement strategies to help eradicate graffiti.
7. The formation of the Anti-Graffiti Unit itself has sent a message that graffiti will be dealt with seriously. A number of prolific graffiti vandals have been persuaded to stop doing graffiti using a combination of traditional enforcement methods and restorative justice initiatives.
8. A co-operative relationship has been developed with countless agencies and organizations. The Anti-Graffiti Unit is recognized as an integral part of a proactive group of agencies in Vancouver that are working to solve the graffiti problem. Contact with all of these organizations occurs on an ongoing daily basis.

PROGRAM COORDINATION AND ADMINISTRATION

The first few months in the Anti-Graffiti Unit involved essential tasks such as setting up the unit, purchasing the equipment, and liaising with associated sections within the department.

The graffiti suspect and incident specific databases were developed. It is important to note that police incidents involving graffiti fall under a variety of crime types (i.e.: assault, mischief, suspicious person etc.). In order to extract graffiti specific calls from PRIME BC, a number of search parameters have to be utilized.

Other administrative tasks included:
· Researching specific equipment needs.
· Working with the Crime Analysis Unit to develop templates and to track incidents.
· Writing a unit mandate and investigation criteria.
· Helping the City's Graffiti Management Team with the launch of the graffiti program.
· Setting policy and procedure with ECOMM.
· Developing Policy and Procedure for the Vancouver Police Department.
· Developing team training packages, PowerPoint presentations and lecture material.
· Liaising with the Information Technology Section to resolve equipment issues.
· Learning how to store digital photographs properly in order to provide the best evidence.

EDUCATION

In August 2002, the Anti-Graffiti Unit formed a partnership with Simon Fraser University to assist with ongoing graffiti research. To date, four SFU students have completed their criminology practicum studies with the Unit. Although the supervision of students is time intensive, valuable experience and research has been gained on both sides. SFU CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) courses have focused on the Vancouver graffiti problem. Groups of students have studied particular topics related to graffiti, prepared and presented reports to the Unit, and provided valuable recommendations.

Twelve team-training sessions for patrol officers of approximately one hour each were presented from November to December 2002. The training consisted of the following topics:
· The role of the Anti-Graffiti Unit
· Background graffiti information and the importance of dealing with graffiti
· The costs associated to not dealing with graffiti
· Graffiti suspect profile and graffiti paraphernalia
· Graffiti investigations and the importance of laying charges
· Policy and procedure and the new by-law
· The importance of release conditions
· The importance of gathering intelligence

The results arising from the team training sessions are astounding. Reports are forwarded to the Anti-Graffiti Unit on a regular basis. Patrol members consistently stop both members of the Unit with information regarding graffiti investigations and the Unit receives calls for help from patrol. The number of charges rose significantly. The number of streetchecks, which is a sign of police pro-activity, also escalated. The chart below is a comparison of reported 2002 and 2003 graffiti incidents from January to May. The increase in graffiti incidents is a reflection of more diligent reporting by the police, not an increase of graffiti in Vancouver.

These numbers display increased awareness. As a result of the City's Graffiti Management Program, citizens recognize the importance of reporting graffiti. Patrol officers also recognize the importance of taking the time to complete in-depth graffiti reports. The Unit has gathered statistics on police response to in progress reports. In 97.5% of cases in 2003, an in progress calls resulted in the apprehension of the suspect(s). Charges were laid in 52% of these cases. The reason for not charging may include: not enough evidence, a victim not wanting to produce a statement, police discretion, or first-time young offender referred to "alternate measures".

Between the months of November 2002, and April 2003, the Anti-Graffiti Unit presented to the City of Vancouver's Property Use Inspectors, the Graffiti Management Team, Community Police Office volunteers, members of Citizens Crime Watch, and parents of graffiti suspects in conjunction with school administrators.

ENFORCEMENT

As police officers, the enforcement aspect of the job is the most apparent. This does not simply translate into arresting as many suspects as possible. The Anti-Graffiti Unit has taken a pro-active, problem-solving approach aimed at the eradication of graffiti. Ultimately, the goal is to stop graffiti vandals from causing damage to property and incurring huge costs to society.

Patrol Support
Naturally, patrol officers are a large component of enforcement; they are on the road 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and they are consistently dealing with and catching the graffiti suspects. The Anti-graffiti Unit complements their work, and in certain cases, completes their investigations. This is accomplished through:
· Follow up investigations
· Intelligence gathering
· Target hardening
· Posting bulletins about graffiti target locations
· Special attention to specific premises
· Liaising with patrol officers
· Posting current suspect information
· Interviewing in custody suspects
· In many instances the Anti-Graffiti Unit collects further evidence after the primary investigation so that a charge can go through to Crown Counsel.

Investigative Tools
The Unit has developed a graffiti database that has enabled the Detective Constables to become very knowledgeable about suspects, their "tags", and the graffiti subculture. Presently there are over 300 suspects in the database, many of whom are hyper-linked to photos of their graffiti. Suspect information includes incident numbers and can be cross-referenced to catalogue all of the graffiti incidents on PRIME BC from 2001 to 2003.

The Anti-Graffiti Unit conducts its own investigations in addition to the follow-up investigations that are generated by patrol. Streetchecks and checks of graffiti prone areas are conducted. Graffiti tags are archived for future investigations.

Bail conditions are sought after a suspect has been arrested and charged with doing graffiti. The Unit has had success in convincing prolific graffiti suspects to stop doing graffiti by ensuring that conditions are abided by.

Crown Counsel
The Unit has worked collaboratively with Crown Counsel, resulting in a high rate of charge approval. This is a trend that has a positive effect in deterring graffiti vandals.

The Anti-Graffiti Unit has discovered that the most successful strategies employed have involved one on one interaction. These tactics are useful when specific prolific repeat offenders are being targeted. A more in-depth discussion is in the Restorative Justice Section.

Intelligence
The Anti-Graffiti Unit has developed contacts in the graffiti community and learned that the graffiti community is very tight-knit. Word spreads rapidly causing both positive and negative reactions. Graffiti activists keep a keen eye on the Police and their enforcement. A website visited regularly by graffiti suspects actually posted the Anti-Graffiti Plan for the Vancouver Police Department on their site. Sources have advised that the "word on the street" is that Vancouver is no longer a good place to do graffiti. Graffiti gets buffed quickly; this means that people are cleaning up and painting out. When this occurs, graffiti vandals are unable to attain the notoriety that they aspire to. In addition, the "vandal task force" is growing, which means enforcement is high in Vancouver and the risk of getting caught is now increased. Finally, "graf cops" are doing surveillance; this means there are police officers able to read graffiti, monitor graffiti meeting places and target offenders.

SPECIAL ENFORCEMENT PROJECTS

Undercover Operations
Undercover projects by the Anti-Graffiti Unit have led to a better understanding of the graffiti sub-culture. In one project, the Unit worked with Translink in order to identify a group of youth that was repeatedly tagging buses. With the help of a Liquor Inspector, Fire Inspector, Patrol, Translink, and two SFU practicum students, the Anti-Graffiti Unit was successful in:
· Locating the local hangout for graffiti suspects
· Identifying a licensed premises which was serving liquor to underage youths
· Charging the owner with Liquor Control and Licensing Infractions
· Charging the owner with by-law infractions
· Identifying 100 people who are or are associated to graffiti vandals
· Charging a suspect with mischief, narcotics possession and carrying a concealed weapon
· Solving the Tuesday night graffiti problem on the bus
· This investigation is a dramatic example of the nexus between graffiti and a plethora of other criminal activity. Targeting graffiti offenders has a positive ripple effect in reducing crime.

Static Video Surveillance
Video surveillance was mentioned in the original proposal to City Council. In terms of time and effort, the cost of set up and implementation of the equipment was huge. The Anti-Graffiti Unit had to interact with the Forensic Video section, the technical support unit of the Criminal Intelligence Section, a Commercial Electronics representative, a Panasonic representative, and the Information Technology Section. It was months before the equipment became fully functional and, in the first week after the installation, the equipment was damaged. (The suspect was caught and charged by the Anti-Graffiti Unit the following day).

The current location for video surveillance was chosen because it was renowned for graffiti and, despite repeated reports to the police the building was continually hit with graffiti. With the new graffiti by-law in effect it was necessary for the business owners to clean up their 20,000 square foot premise at their own expense.

The equipment has proven to be a deterrent. At the present location, it has not proven useful in identifying suspects or in charging anyone. Up until the last week in May, the building had only been tagged once by a suspect with his hood up (the suspect could not be identified). At the end of May, the building was tagged on all three walls that did not have video surveillance cameras (The cameras were placed on the wall that was most frequently hit.)

The Unit has had numerous contacts with property owners who are angered by the graffiti problem and experience repeat victimization. The use of static surveillance is a means for the Unit to provide ongoing police support to these owners. Supported property owners become more dedicated to graffiti eradication and find renewed trust in police action. The equipment will be moved to another location in the near future. It is feasible that the equipment will be more useful in identifying suspects at a different location that is more conducive to static surveillance.

Restorative Justice School
The Anti-Graffiti Unit is currently identifying funding for a "Graffiti School." The program will provide a restorative justice option for young offenders.

Graffiti vandals usually start tagging between the age of 13 and 16. This type of offender, new to the trade, tends to tag close to home, on buses, and in the schools. As they become more adept in tagging, they aim to sharpen their skills and heighten their popularity. Many graffiti methods used to attain notoriety are illegal and involve a high level of risk. These activities also help taggers learn behaviours that assist them in other types of crimes: evading the police, keeping watch for each other, climbing onto rooftops, jumping fences, and working late at night and in groups.

Early intervention makes sense for several reasons. Currently, one third of the graffiti suspects in the Unit's database are young offenders. One on one contact with these individuals redirects their energies towards legal avenues.

Case Study 1: In September 1998, a 14-year-old graffiti tagger came to the attention of the Vancouver Police Department. Since then, the Department has dealt with this individual 50 times. He was charged 15 times for mischief, twice for break and enter, three times for breaching his conditions, once for shoplifting and once for drug possession. In other dealings, he was a suspect for crimes of mischief, threatening, harassing phone calls, and fraud. On average, this individual has had contact with the Vancouver Police once a month.

It is impossible to pinpoint the exact number of tags this individual has produced. However, during an interview he admitted to doing "thousands of phone booths" and agreed that he had probably caused over $100,000 dollars worth of damage.

In April 2003 he was arrested for mischief. The Anti-Graffiti Unit attended the jail and conducted a videotaped interview. He explained that he was tired of his criminal involvement and realized that his graffiti activities had been a very negative influence in his life. An agreement was reached where he would meet with the Unit regularly in order to remind him of his court appearances and to ensure that he would not re-offend. Since that time, there has been no evidence of that he has continued illegal graffiti activities. In cost effective terms, this means that the Unit has not only saved the Vancouver Police personnel hours, but also court-time, and has prevented property damage.

Case Study 2: In December of 2002, a 16 year old young offender was out of school until he was re-accepted into a new program in February 2003. He started to do graffiti and his tag became prolific in the East Side of Vancouver. The Anti-Graffiti Unit received information about this new damage through citizen complaints, City Property Use Inspectors, and 911. The individual was also caught doing graffiti and a victim statement was pending. A meeting was set up with this individual and his mother. This individual accepted the responsibility for cleaning up his graffiti.

The average cost to clean a graffiti tag is $30 (Translink figure). The Unit has since met with this individual 5 times and has subsequently cleaned approximately 150 tags or $4,500 worth of damage (150 tags x $30 per tag). To date, this individual is not known to have re-offended. The early pattern of behaviour of this individual was similar to that of the offender described in Case Study 1 and it is logical to conclude that had the Unit not intervened, this young offender would one day also have a lengthy criminal record. Without a doubt, early intervention is effective in preventing damage, saving tax dollars spent on the judicial system, but most importantly assisting young offenders in re-directing their energies into legal avenues.

ERADICATION (COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT)

The City's Graffiti Management team has been responsible for the majority of graffiti eradication. There has been a phenomenal reduction of graffiti, which enables the Unit to identify new tags and actively target suspects. The individual described in Case Study 2 is a prime example.

When it comes to eradication, the Unit's role is largely one of facilitation. The Anti-Graffiti Unit recognizes that other agencies are very efficient in eradicating graffiti and the Unit provides them with assistance whenever possible. The Unit is a member of the Graffiti Task Force, which includes agencies such as the Vancouver School Board, Parks Board Telus and BC Hydro, and Business Improvement Associations. They are also involved in Community Policing Centres anti-graffiti activities.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The budget for 2003 and 2004 was projected in last year's report to Council, which was accepted. The Anti-Graffiti Unit's budget will be brought online with the Vancouver Police Department's budget by 2004.

PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS

A request for a part time civilian to work with the Anti-Graffiti Unit will be submitted to the Planning and Research Section in the near future. A part time civilian would increase productivity by freeing up two trained Police Officers from clerical duties; this would translate into increased enforcement. As more people are becoming aware of the existence of the Unit, the number of calls for service is increasing and the amount of intelligence and data is escalating. It is extremely difficult to analyze and disseminate data, investigate and track suspects and simultaneously record statistics to measure effectiveness.

Anti-Graffiti Unit duties on any given day might include:
· Reading through recent graffiti reports
· Responding to any reports in need of immediate attention
· Gathering intelligence and analysing information
· Inputting data from sources, reports, and outside agencies
· Responding to calls for assistance from citizens and patrol officers
· Conducting follow up investigations and writing reports
· Initiating graffiti investigations and conducting streetchecks
· Talking to graffiti suspects at schools and monitoring graffiti websites
· Surveilling graffiti prone locations and tracking specific graffiti suspects
· Working with Translink and SFU students
· Physically cleaning up graffiti with graffiti suspects
· Liaising with outside agencies regarding strategies and intelligence
· Ensuring that Patrol is updated with bulletins and intelligence

A part time civilian could implement and research restorative justice initiatives and analyze and maintain database information. The job could include but would not be limited to:

1. Putting the Restorative Justice Initiative into action.
2. Inputting information into suspect and incident databases.
3. Analysing and extracting statistics from the databases.
4. Trial tracking to determine sentences and the rate of recidivism.
5. Tracking individual graffiti vandals.
6. Assisting with clerical work associated to liaising with Patrol and outside agencies.

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

In addition to maintaining the current unit activities, the Unit plans will expand on the following education, eradication and enforcement strategies:

EDUCATION
· Train ECOMM dispatchers, call takers and report takers
· Professional day training for high school teachers
· Train security companies
· Formulate training package for Lower Mainland police departments
· Vancouver Police team training update
· Present to Vancouver Police recruit classes
· Develop a Graffiti Prevention School
· Develop a pamphlet for public distribution

ERADICATION
· Provide ongoing support to the Graffiti Management Team
· Use young offenders in eradication efforts
· Promote the concept of "Adopt a Block"
· Assist with the mural program
· Encourage CPC involvement in graffiti eradication and identification
· Continue public presentations regarding the need for eradication

ENFORCEMENT
· Share database with other departments
· Develop a structured liaison between departments
· Conduct surveillance on prolific taggers
· Increase one on one contact with young offenders
· Liaise with Canadian Pacific and target the train yards
· Increase street presence of the Anti-Graffiti Unit
· Conduct search warrants on known offenders

CONCLUSION

This year end report is a culmination of a great deal of hard work on the part of Anti-
Graffiti Unit and the City's Graffiti Management Team. There have been huge advances made towards eradicating and controlling the graffiti problem. Graffiti vandals, who were perceived as inexhaustible, have discontinued damaging property. Areas that were once termed "graffiti corridors" have been transformed into regions where property owners take pride in maintaining graffiti free buildings. A comprehensive suspect database that is unique to Canadian policing was developed. Organizations and agencies have joined forces in order to combat graffiti. The cost benefits of continuing the program are vast in terms of saving money, restoring justice and delivering a service to the Citizens of Vancouver.

The recurring theme in last year's Anti-Graffiti plan was consistency, co-operation and co-ordination; ideally in the next two years the theme should be continuity. The efforts made by Vancouver Police Department and the City of Vancouver need to continue to be supported in order to continue to work towards a graffiti-free city.

Comments or questions? Send us e-mail at info@city.vancouver.bc.ca
© 2002 City of Vancouver