Vandalism is a crime that affects everybody who sees it or is victim of it. Graffiti may seem harmless, but they ravage the beauty of historic cities and buildings, cost millions of euros to government and individuals to clean up, and can certainly have a more or less serious impact on people's mood (who likes to see spary paint on a magnificient stone edifice ?) and sense of security (graffiti are justifiably associated with gangs or bad boys).
Personally, I wish that government would do more to tackle the problem of graffiti in badly affected cities (Brussels, Paris, Berlin...).
I wish vandalism could be made a crime as serious as drug trafficking or counterfeiting of money.
I would like to see special police forces trained to catch vandals. They could wear civilian clothes, and maybe even dress like bad boys, in order to approach them without raising suspicions. Some places are especially popular with graffiti makers, like station areas, and commercial centres at night (e.g. on shop shutters). These are good areas to start patrolling.
How do you feel about graffiti and vandalism (e.g. destroying windows, telephone boots...) in general ?
Personally, I wish that government would do more to tackle the problem of graffiti in badly affected cities (Brussels, Paris, Berlin...).
I wish vandalism could be made a crime as serious as drug trafficking or counterfeiting of money.
I would like to see special police forces trained to catch vandals. They could wear civilian clothes, and maybe even dress like bad boys, in order to approach them without raising suspicions. Some places are especially popular with graffiti makers, like station areas, and commercial centres at night (e.g. on shop shutters). These are good areas to start patrolling.
How do you feel about graffiti and vandalism (e.g. destroying windows, telephone boots...) in general ?
kashii:
, therefore, when we discuss graffiti's legitimization, it is definitely up to urban context and should be case sensitive.
