The Boston City Council yesterday made its next move in what it sees as a battle against graffiti artists defacing properties across Boston at a hearing in which councilors, local police and residents heard testimony in favor of a city ordinance that would charge offenders $300 for each property defaced.
The task of catching perpetrators largely falls in the hands of police, said Councilor Michael Ross (Back Bay, Fenway).
“Nothing is better than catching them in the act,” said Boston Police officer William Kelley.
The statute would fine perpetrators for any “way, shape or form” of graffiti, which he said adheres to the commonwealth’s definition.
“The state law as it is written covers everything, and believe me, I will use it,” Kelley said.
The most severe already-existing punishment for tagging is a three-year prison sentence and one-year driver’s license suspension, Kelley said. Perpetrators can also be fined three times the amount of damage caused by the offense and be required to serve community service hours equivalent to the time spent repairing the damage, he said.
The fines may not affect the “graffiti subculture” as much as officials hope, however — Kelley said more wealthy people have taken up the art because fines are not a concern for them.
“Something has to be done so that they don’t do it again,” said Boston Police District D-4 Captain William Evans. “A fine means nothing to them.”
The ordinance would be helpful, Evans said, but he expressed concern that courts would not assign offenders harsher punishments if they know they have already paid a hefty fine.
Evans added that graffiti tends to follow the college student population, because it disperses throughout the city while schools continue to expand and students move off campus.
“It really brings down the neighborhood,” he said. “Nobody likes to see it. It gives the impression that anything goes.”
Ross said the city does not want to project an unsafe image, which he said graffiti ultimately does.
Back Bay community activist Anne Swanson testified in support of the ordinance, saying she has spent hundreds of hours removing graffiti. In one case, she said, she believes an individual tagged 61 properties.
Councilor Salvatore LaMattina (Charlestown, East Boston) added the definition of graffiti also includes stickers on street signs, which cost the city hundreds of dollars to replace.