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History
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- Referred to codes
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to penalties for making graffiti and possession of graffiti instruments
Summary of provisions
The bill would amend Article 145.60 of Title I of the New York State Penal Law by replacing the offense of Making Graffiti with the offenses of Making Graffiti in the first degree and Making Graffiti in the second degree. The bill would also amend section 145.65 of the Penal Law by increasing the penalty for Possession of Graffiti Instruments.
Section one would make the current offense of Making Graffiti, Penal Law §145.60, into Making Graffiti in the second degree. Section two would add a new offense, Making Graffiti in the first degree, Penal Law §145.61, and make its penalty a Class E felony.
Read the full memo (647 words)
Section three would elevate Possession of Graffiti Instruments, Penal Law §145.65, from a class B misdemeanor to a class A misdemeanor.
Justification
Graffiti is a destructive offense that communicates a message of disorder and lawlessness in a neighborhood. The New York City Police Department has made significant efforts to address and prevent graffiti, including taking enforcement action against violators, maintaining a database of intelligence information about graffiti "tags" and offenders, and working with the Mayor's Anti-Graffiti Task Force to facilitate removal. Further, the Department has reinvigorated its efforts over the past three years, introducing weekly "Graffiti-Stat" meetings, adding a Citywide Graffiti Coordinator and local anti-graffiti coordinators, increasing the number of enforcement personnel specifically focusing on this offense, and deploying Department resources more effectively.
There are three essential elements of a successful anti-graffiti initiative: enforcement, cleanup, and education. With respect to cleanup and education, the Police Department works with partners such as the Mayor's Community Assistance Unit, to involve and educate the ,public about the destructive nature of graffiti and the importance of immediate removal of graffiti, Local police personnel encourage store owners, community members, school personnel and students to report graffiti and participate in cleanup operations. The New York City Council has also enacted a local law which requires building owners to keep their property graffiti-free, or be subject to a nuisance abatement procedure allowing the city to remove graffiti without the owner's consent.
The first element for success, enforcement, remains a pivotal focus, and the Police Department's strategies described above have resulted in a 162% increase in arrests when comparing 2004 to 2007. All of the attention and resources devoted to this effort cannot be effective, however, if the crime is not taken seriously when the offenders are brought before the court. Therefore, it is imperative that the criminal penalties addressing this destructive behavior match the seriousness of the offense. The actual damage to the property and the cost of removing graffiti should be reflected in the penalty level for the crime, and the penalty should be increased for the repeat offenders who cause this damage. Thus, the penalty for Making Graffiti should be upgraded to a class E felony when the offender has committed the crime or a related offense before, which matches the current criminal penalty for Criminal Mischief in the third degree, committed when the damage to property exceeds $250. Possession of Graffiti Instruments should also be upgraded, to reflect the seriousness of the offense and to more effectively discourage the carrying of graffiti tools, which can be used very quickly to deface the property of others.
The New York City Police Department is committed to an enhanced focus on graffiti, through using its own resources and working with its partners to catch graffiti vandals and to prevent and deter this highly destructive crime. The criminal penalties should be increased in order to maximize this effort, leading to an improvement in the quality of life for all.
Legislative history
S.7072/A.10294 of 2008 (Passed Senate)
Fiscal implications
None.
Local fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.