In order to restore the city’s pride, then-Portland Commissioner Rene Gonzalez pledged last fall to implement severe sanctions against graffiti criminals whose spray-painted scrawls damaged numerous buildings, street signs, and overpasses.
Gonzalez posted on social media, “Unfortunately, the current lack of consequences for these perpetrators has emboldened them.”
Gonzalez’s hard-on-crime plan, which would have given taggers a new misdemeanor infraction and a minimum penalty of seven days in jail or fifty hours of community service, was not put to a vote last month before Gonzalez departed office.
Gonzalez made a suggestion during his failed quest to become mayor of Portland, but it was never apparent if it would have been successful. Portland didn’t require a new criminal penalty, according to Grant Hartley, a lawyer with Metropolitan Public Defender. According to Hartley, district attorneys don’t have many choices for charges in graffiti instances since they are hard to investigate.
According to him, graffiti typically occurs in the middle of the night. It happens in a flash. It is not overt.
Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell has questioned city officials’ attempts to book low-level criminals, like those who break Portland’s anti-camping law, because of the county’s limited jail capacity. Additionally, Multnomah County Presiding Judge Judith Matarazzo stated last fall that it would be challenging to locate lawyers for graffiti vandals due to Oregon’s chronic public defense problem.
Nathan Vasquez, the recently elected district attorney, announced on Monday that his office will keep prosecuting taggers that the police arrest. He may file a number of criminal charges against taggers under state law, such as criminal mischief and illegal possession of graffiti tools.
According to a spokeswoman, Vasquez expressed his sadness that this will not continue. It will not, however, alter this office’s strategy for bringing lawbreakers accountable. We still have a number of alternatives at our disposal to punish people responsible for this illegal activity.
“I hope the city continues to prioritize graffiti abatement,” said Ken Thrasher, a resident of the Pearl District and the board chair of a neighborhood organization of businesses and condo owners who pay for extra protection in the area.
“We want it to stop,” he stated.
He might have to wait longer than he had anticipated.
This month, the newly elected 12-member City Council will discuss increasing the budgets for the mayor and their offices, a move that is anticipated to cost $4.6 million. According to city officials, if the spending increase is approved, money may be taken from initiatives to clear graffiti and homeless camps.
For The Oregonian/OregonLive, Zaeem Shaikh writes about criminal justice problems and the Portland Police Bureau. You can reach him on X@zaeemshake or at 503-221-4323, [email protected].
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