Crime & Safety
Graffiti Vandals Strike Lafayette Park
Maintenance people were kept busy in Lafayette last week after a ne'er-do-well with a spray can toured the town, tagging everything from street signs to trees. Trees?
Having talked with people busted for defacing public and private property with their spray-paint of choice, we know that many vandals see nothing wrong with what they do.
And having seen the damage they cause firsthand, it's irksome when some insist on calling them "artists." Park maintenance staff in Lafayette have an entirely different name for them, apparently. We can't print it here.
A very prolific lone tagger or perhaps a crew of them cruised through Lafayette last week, leaving their scrawl on everything from signposts to trees. That's right... trees.
Find out what's happening in Lamorindawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"Fines are high for anyone caught defacing public property and we're hopeful that the guilty party will be caught," said City Manager Steven Falk. "What makes this vandalism particularly frustrating is the marking on trees."
Benches and signs can be cleaned with a little elbow grease but it's difficult - actually nearly impossible - to remove the scrawl from a tree without damaging the tree. So, next time you think "harmless prank" when you see the vandal's work, think again.
Find out what's happening in Lamorindawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Lamorinda Patch has found that taggers who saw residents cleaning up their overnight scrawl the morning after their attack ratcheted things up - buying glass etchers and other permanent markers to make sure their tag stayed up after that.
That's what we're up against.
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