Charges were approved this week against a Port Coquitlam teenager who was allegedly caught by police in the act of tagging and who is believed to be responsible for numerous acts of vandalism in the Tri-Cities.
The youth, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was arrested in August thanks to a tip from an alert citizen, according to Coquitlam RCMP.
Const. Matt Berinbaum, a graffiti expert, said residents do not feel safe in an area where graffiti is rampant and that it is important for people to phone the police when they see vandalism and other criminal activity.
"It's a self-perpetuating thing," he said. "But all it takes is citizens to tune in to what is going on in their area and call police when they see taggers in action or suspect they know who might be responsible for tags. After that, it's a question of putting in the time."
Having a graffiti investigator on staff has put a dent in the amount of vandalism committed by prolific taggers, which he said can damage a community's reputation.
Berinbaum goes through the painstaking task of analysing tags and linking them to specific individuals.
"Unless police can demonstrate that a tagger, even one who is caught in the act, has a history of vandalism, the consequences for the tagger are not very serious and the vandalism won't stop," he said.
Anyone with any information about vandalism or graffiti should call the Coquitlam RCMP's non-emergency line at 604-945-1550. Those who wish to remain anonymous can do so by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or going to www.solvecrime.ca.
