Halifax police see rise in property vandalism

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HALIFAX - Det.-Const. James Bennett has spent three years educating himself about graffiti and the culture that surrounds it.

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The Canadian Press

Const. Jim Bennett stands in front of graffiti on the walls of 'The Pit' off Lower Water Street in Halifax.

"We're no different than any other city in Canada. This is a problem nationwide," said the Halifax Regional Municipality officer, adding that like any other crime, graffiti is a priority for the police.

"It's mischief under the Criminal Code of Canada and it affects everybody. It affects quality of life, it intimidates people; they feel there's a gang problem because they automatically assume graffiti is related to gangs."

Bennett, a member of the city's graffiti task force, said some of the graffiti in Halifax is gang-related but the majority is hip-hop graffiti, aimed at earning recognition for the person wielding the spray paint.

Police divide graffiti into eight categories, including hate crime graffiti, Satanic cult and political activism, but hip-hop makes up 80 to 90 per cent of it. Within hip-hop graffiti, there are three styles: tags (single colour, one dimensional), throw ups (two dimensional, two colour -- the bubble style), and pieces, or masterpieces, the most elaborate.

"As police, we try to deal with it because graffiti can lead to other crimes, whether it's trying to lure people into gangs, or intimidate people, or turf wars, just that whole social decline where people are afraid to go out and enjoy parks because they don't feel safe anymore," he said.

Arrests for graffiti in Halifax have become more common since more police officers have been added to the streets, and officers, newly educated about its effects, are taking graffiti more seriously.

Police arrested one teenager who was practising his style of graffiti on a notebook while in school. His teacher seized the notebook and turned it over to police, who matched the font to graffiti at a bus stop.

"It's like having writing analysis done," said Bennett.

"It's difficult to catch somebody because they do it mostly under the cover of darkness, anywhere from two in the morning to five in the morning. It's very quick; it can take (as little as) 30 seconds to do something very simple or they'll come back over time and finish what they call a masterpiece."

People arrested for the first time typically are fined or sentenced to community service. Some are referred to the Restorative Justice Program. Bennett doesn't think stiffer penalties would serve as a deterrent.

"We've tried a number of things -- creating 'free walls' for them to use -- but we've found that graffiti spreads graffiti," he said.

"Whether they're allowed to do it in a spot or not, they tend to gather, a bleeding effect occurs from there and it spreads.

So the only proven method to combat graffiti is to remove it within 24 hours.