SELLERS FACE STING ON PAINT GRAFFITI REMOVAL SQUAD ENSURES SPRAY CANS ARE SAFELY LOCKED UP.Byline: PATRICIA PATRICIA Practical Algorithm To Retrieve Information Coded In Alphanumeric PATRICIA Proving and Testability for Reliability Improvement of Complex Integrated Architectures PATRICIA PApilloma TRIal Cervical cancer In young Adults FARRELL AIDEM Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, -- The city's graffiti graffiti Form of visual communication, usually illegal, involving the unauthorized marking of public space by an individual or group. Technically the term applies to designs scratched through a layer of paint or plaster, but its meaning has been extended to other markings. removal squad is taking on stores that who don't comply with Santa Clarita's ordinance A law, statute, or regulation enacted by a Municipal Corporation. An ordinance is a law passed by a municipal government. A municipality, such as a city, town, village, or borough, is a political subdivision of a state within which a municipal corporation has been restricting the sale of spray paint. The 10-member team -- a coordinator and nine part-time staffers -- is conducting stings at stores that sell the vandals' favorite tool to ensure it's kept under lock and key for restricted sales, said Adele Macpherson, Santa Clarita's community services superintendent. ``No one can just walk by and take a can of spray paint,'' she said. There was a surge in graffiti vandalism The intentional and malicious destruction of or damage to the property of another. The intentional destruction of property is popularly referred to as vandalism. It includes behavior such as breaking windows, slashing tires, spray painting a wall with graffiti, and last year, and while it has slowed in recent chilly weather, efforts to stop it continue, she said. Those efforts will be reviewed Thursday at a meeting of the city Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission. The team has some high-tech tools that also help identify vandals, including a database that tracks similarities in scrawls even if a tagger tag·ger n. 1. One that tags, especially the pursuer in the game of tag. 2. taggers Very thin sheet iron, usually plated with tin. Noun 1. changes his moniker (1) A name, title or alias. See alias. (2) A COM object that is used to create instances of other objects. Monikers save programmers time when coding various types of COM-based functions such as linking one document to another (OLE). See COM and OLE. . ``That way we can see where a certain tagger is targeting, the frequency, his travel paths,'' Macpherson said. ``We share that with the Sheriff's Department. They get a profile and go get him. ``Taggers are getting smart, though. They used to keep the same moniker; now they don't. But even when they change, we can find some similarities.'' The more a vandal tags, the more evidence mounts for an easier conviction, she said. In addition to what private-property owners spend, cleaning up graffiti costs Santa Clarita city government about $500,000 a year, money spread out among various departments whose crews come across vandalism. The team itself is operating on about $137,000 this year. The Santa Clarita City Council has approved an ordinance requiring property owners to remove graffiti within 24 hours. Previous regulations allowed up to three weeks, and the problem mounted. Those who ignore that law must pay for city crews to remove the graffiti. pat.aidem@dailynews.com (661) 257-5251 IF YOU GO The Santa Clarita Parks Commission will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday in City Hall council chambers, 23920 Valencia Blvd. CAPTION(S): box Box: IF YOU GO (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion