Posted on: Wednesday, July 6, 2005

Jail time possible for repeat graffiti vandals

By Loren Moreno
Advertiser Staff Writer

Repeat graffiti offenders could face jail time in addition to fines, under a new law targeting "taggers."

A person convicted of graffiti vandalism for the third time in a five-year period would see the offense elevated from criminal property damage to a misdemeanor, meaning they would face possible jail time and a $2,000 fine, said police Capt. Gregory Lefcourt.

"What's happening is we have these people who are repeat offenders and they just commit the crime, get arrested, go through the system and really don't have to face any strong discipline," Lefcourt said.

It was one of two visual-aesthetics bills signed yesterday by Gov. Linda Lingle. The other allows counties to restrict aerial advertising based on an existing billboard ban.

The state Department of Transportation alone spends about $25,000 a year to paint over graffiti, and Lingle said visual blight hurts tourism. "I don't think you can put a dollar figure on this," she said.

Freeway signs and walls of roadway viaducts have become common canvases for O'ahu graffiti vandals, but Lefcourt said no place on the island is unaffected by vandals.

The Department of Transportation estimates that it deals with about 150,000 square feet of graffiti every year, said DOT Deputy Director Brennon Morioka.

"It (vandalism) takes away bodies, time and especially money. All of these things are spent on something other than what the department is supposed to be doing," Morioka said.

The other bill signed by Lingle yesterday gives counties the authority to ban aerial and watercraft advertisements, such as banners pulled by airplanes or billboards on or towed by boats.

State law already bans billboards, but the new law eliminates a perceived loophole that could have allowed aerial advertising, said Mary Steiner, chief executive officer of the Outdoor Circle.

Before the new law, it would have been possible for an advertising plane to take off from an airport on Moloka'i, which does not ban aerial advertising, and tow the banner over the beaches of O'ahu, which does ban aerial advertising, Steiner said.

Lingle praised the work of the Outdoor Circle, which has successfully banned billboards in Hawai'i since 1948, saying that it has protected Hawai'i's natural beauty.

"Here, when we travel and we see the billboards everywhere we go, whether it's a different country or a different city, you can see the difference immediately," Lingle said.

Reach Loren Moreno at 535-2455 or lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.