My response to Chief Spagnoli

Dear Chief Spagnoli:

Thank you for your quick reply.

I am happy to hear that the Benicia Police Department is investigating this occurrence and not dismissing it as just another graffiti.

I must take issue with regard to your assertion that the crime did not occur on private property and, therefore, there is no protected victim. The incident in question involved numerous tags. I have attached a picture that shows that the fence of my neighbor, adjacent to the tag in question, was a victim of the incident (along with the City). In my humble opinion, the very nature of the tag stating "Arab Nigga" shows clear motivation by bias, and you have at least one protected victim by definition, my neighbor.

I suppose we could just ignore it but I don't believe that is the intent of the California Hate Crimes Code. These latest tags don't seem to be the work of just a bunch of bored kids with a spray can. This seems to be of a more serious nature. I don't think it should be ignored. Rather, it should be taken very seriously.

..Ross Sagun

10/14/2008

Hello Ross-

In answer to your question, the Benicia Police Department complies with the reporting requirements of Hate Crimes as defined by the penal code. Once we complete this investigation, the case will be classified appropriately. In this case, one important fact to support a hate crime classification is an intended victim or victims, since this is not on private property. Hate crimes occur when a suspect targets a protected victim, and the crime is motivated by bias.

DOJ is specific in their reporting guidelines in stating " specific facts need to be present that the offender's actions were motivated by bias" therefore connecting it to an intended target can assist in establishing the elements to this crime.

You may contact Lt. Bob Oettinger via email boettinger@ci.benicia.ca.us if you have further information to provide regarding this investigation or our policy on investigation hate crimes.

Sincerely,

Sandra Spagnoli

Is this a hate crime, and is it being treated as one?

As defined in California Penal Code section 13023, a hate crime is any criminal act or attempted criminal act motivated by hatred based on race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability. These crimes must be reported to the Department of Justice (DOJ) by law enforcement agencies. Information about bias-motivation, type of crime, location of crime, number of victims, and number of known suspects is included in each crime report.
- Office of the California Attorney General

Using web presence to thwart graffiti

Here is a great example of how one police department, the Glendale, AZ Police Department, uses the web to combat their graffiti problem. As you can see, they are making arrests. This effective strategy could easily be implemented by the City of Benicia. I hope the City considers developing something similar.

- Ross Sagun

City of Glendale - Police - Graffiti Busters Most Wanted
The Glendale Police Department is asking the residents of Glendale for assistance in preventing graffiti throughout the City as well as catching graffiti vandals. The following photos represent some of the existing graffiti incidents that the Police Department is currently pursuing. Do you recognize any of these tags? Do you have information on who is responsible? If so, please CLICK HERE and submit a tip online. If you are witnessing the graffiti being applied now, please contact the Glendale Police Department immediately at (623) 930-3000. Need to have graffiti removed? Click here to submit a removal request online.
	Suspect Arrested. Click here for more info.

Giving credit

Unfortunately, the graffiti vandals are back at work in our neighborhood (to the vandals: We will find you sooner or later).

There is, however, a lot of hope for solving our ongoing problem. Just look at how much progress has been made. Remember the what the tunnel looked like before? And the pathway? A lot of credit has to go to these folks:

* Mayor Patterson and the Benicia City Council for putting the focus on revising our outdated graffiti ordinance.

* The Benicia Police Department for their quick response to our calls and for their followup.

* The City of Benicia for quick removal of the graffiti and for maintaining the tunnel and pathway.

Things would be quite a bit different without their efforts and your advocacy. To all of you that have lent a hand or shown support, thank you for helping to protect and improve our neighborhood and our city.

..Ross Sagun

They are at it again!

After a couple of months of relatively no graffiti in and around the 3rd Street tunnel and pathway, the vandals returned today. I'm happy to report that the Benicia City Council is apparently working on revising our outdated and, frankly, weak graffiti ordinance. I hope they act swiftly. Here is what I had previously suggested:

What we need is an anti-graffiti/vandalism strategy that incorporates the following elements. This will require our City Council and departmental leadership to be proactive.

* a strengthened municipal code section
* consistent enforcement
* community-involved anti-graffiti groups
* city-provided graffiti abatement kits for victims
* a web presence outlining the City's strategy
* rewards for tips leading to the arrest and conviction of perpetrators
* an online and dedicated phone line reporting system
* making it known to the DA that we want vandalism prosecuted to the extent allowed by law
* an effective anti-vandalism PR campaign utilizing media and school resource officers

..Ross Sagun