Understanding graffiti: Compulsive artists or just ‘mindless hooligans’?

Molly Ball

Sunday, Dec. 25, 2005 | 7:50 a.m.

When Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman suggested last month that graffiti vandals should have their thumbs cut off on television, he caused an uproar.

But he also made a juvenile court judge think.

Goodman's suggestion may have been outrageous, but he hit upon something serious: Many teenage graffitists don't seem to be deterred by their punishment, said Family Court Judge William Voy, who handles juvenile criminal cases.

"We see it all the time," Voy said. "They do the standard restitution, but they continue to escalate in the system, and then we lock them up."

To address the problem, "We've got to think outside the box," Voy said. "I don't know what the answer is in this case."

Voy has asked his law clerk and the county Juvenile Justice Department to research what makes graffitists tick, with the hope of creating more effective punishments.

"Is there a way to do this better and to get kids to stop, short of doing what the mayor suggests? That's the question," Voy said.

Goodman's comments were prompted by an October incident in which a desert tortoise statue at the Spaghetti Bowl was defaced. Officials said the concrete animal cost $35,000 to build but $50,000 to clean up.

Goodman said bringing the issue to the public's attention was exactly what he intended with his statement.

"It was said in a state of pique, but when I had some time to think about it, I did want to bring attention to the problem, and I think it's working," he said.

Goodman said 80 percent of the feedback was positive.

"I like to stir the pot and get people engaged," he said. "It's a very serious crime, it affects the quality of life in the community, and we're not going to tolerate it."

Jonathon Jimenez, 18, was arrested for the tortoise defacement on Nov. 10, Metro Police said. Because juvenile records are sealed, it is not known whether he was a repeat vandal.

Jimenez was associated with a crew of taggers, according to a detective in Metro's Gang Crimes unit who requested anonymity because he works undercover.

The detective said it was unlikely that a job as high-profile as a sculpture in the middle of a highway interchange would be a tagger's first.

"They only get arrested for a fraction of what they actually do," he said.

"As they get more experienced at it, they become more daring," the detective added. "Some of them say they're addicted to it. They can't stop."

Voy said he, too, suspects there may be psychological compulsions driving at least some vandals, and understanding them may be the key to preventing graffiti.

He pointed to an Australian study that separated graffitists into different types. While some were interested specifically in defying the law, others were opportunistic markers of territory and still others took pride in their art.

"The stereotype of graffiti writers as 'mindless hooligans' is inapplicable," the study noted. It found that graffitists consciously set out to engage in an act that gives them pleasure, and that "zero tolerance" policies are unlikely to deter them.

Many such studies call for governments to provide alternative activities for young people to stop them from resorting to defacing public property. But the Metro detective scoffed at that idea.

"If it's not illegal, they're not interested in it," he said. "They're not interested in doing art. They're interested in doing crime."

Goodman agreed. If disadvantaged youths simply want to express themselves, "The schools have plenty of butcher paper where they can make a nice painting," he said.

"I hope they go to school," he added.

Molly Ball can be reached at 259-8814 or at molly@lasvegassun.com.