Graffiti is a crime, and depending on the cost of damaige it is punishable by a $1000.00 fine or up to one year in jail for damage that is under $400. In any scenario the vandal has to pay the victim for the cost of the repairs and might be ordered to not only clean up the graffiti but also keep the area clean for a year. If the convicted is a minor, then the duty might fall upon the parents of the vandal.
Graffiti removal takes a large chunk out of a city's budget. For excample in 2003 the city of Los Angleles spent $55 million on graffiti removal. Graffiti is the most common type of vandalism acording to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Gang or tagger graffiti makes up almost 80 percent of all graffiti. The majority of taggers are males betwwen the ages of 12 and 21 where 15 percent are young females.
Most community paintbrush murals are rarely vandalized by graffiti and instill a sense of pride among those who live nearby. Fame, rebellion, self-expression and power are the four main motivating factors for graffiti vandalism. Graffiti is a crime that costs communities over 8 billion dollars a year to clean up. This hurts communities because they have to pay for it if the vandal is not caught.