The LAPD plans to launch a graffiti database for Los Angeles. It will list all the hits by each writer, so that it will be easy to view and see who's really getting up! Click the jump for more
Cops don't get it.
Not only is pursuing graffiti an essentially purposeless task--you are never going to stop it. Even if you posted a cop on every street corner, kids would still be catching tags in the alley ways.
And the street truth has been around for a long time, ever since Wild Style, and that truth is when a writer gets busted by the cops it only gives them street fame.
So now that the cops are making this database, the members of society who don't like graffiti should question, "Why?" Is a graffiti database going to stop or prevent graffiti? No. Is it going to help get restitution from a 14 yr old kid when you have a list of all the tags he caught? No. Is it a big waste of taxpayer money? Yes.
And in the meantime, the graffiti writers say thanks for the data base and 'Thanks for the fame!'
***Thanks to Oz for the scoop and LAist for the info***
I used to know someone whose dad headed up the LAPD's graff database/clearinghouse back in the 90's (binders of Polaroids) and he told me flat out that the LAPD's primary concern with graffiti is the way it relates to gang violence and territory. They don't really have the time to get involved or care about "street art". All they really give a damn for is tagging that's connected to serious crime. I have no reason to suspect that's not still the case.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a "big waste of taxpayer money" to monitor graff, particularly gang-related tagging. The kinds of graffiti that the LAPD is largely concerned with is connected to gang violence, drug trafficking and "actual" crime, which has real victims. It's not just about prosecuting petty property crime carried out in the name of street art.
^^^ fuckin pig lover
ReplyDeleteSuch a brave, anonymous comment. I bet you whisper mean things about cops under your breath when you're sure that they'll never hear you, too.
ReplyDelete