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L.A. Councilman Calls For Higher Graffiti Fines
Graffiti on the curves of the Ballona Creek Bike Path (Photo by Emma Gallegos/LAist)
Tagging is as fundamental to L.A. as cracked sidewalks, decaying power poles and potholes on 3rd Street, but one city official wants to increase the penalties on vandals the city catches.
City Councilman Paul Krekorian is asking the city attorney's office to see how much the city can raise its fines for graffiti: currently, L.A. fines you $250 for a first offense, $500 the second time and, if you're inept enough to get caught tagging three times, $1000 every time after that. (Of course, the city and the D.A. can also seek other criminal penalties against you.) Krekorian also moved to double the reward for reporting a tagger to $2000.
"Vandals need to know that they will be held fully accountable for defacing signs, billboards, buildings, homes and our city's treasured murals," Krekorian said, according to the L.A. Times.
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