Whittier PD "Paints" a Clear Picture of Justice for Taggers

On Wednesday, December 10th, members of Whittier Police Department’s Special Enforcement Team apprehended two chronic taggers in the area. The Special Enforcement Team follows up on all taggers when they’re arrested and match them to other “tags” in the city. The Special Enforcement Team, known as SET, conducts routine juvenile probation searches of those convicted of vandalism.

During the early morning hours of Wednesday, morning December 10th, the team noticed several taggings of one of the community’s chronic taggers in and around his apartment. Further investigation by Whittier’s SET unit determined he was heavily involved in tagging for well over two years in the Whittier area. The juvenile, whose name cannot be released due to his age, was 17 years old and lived in the Uptown area. He is responsible for over 108 incidents in the last year amounting to nearly $25,600 damage. Most of the damage was to city property, however five other private victims were identified.

Again, on Thursday, December 11th, the Whittier SET team followed up on leads to another vandal in the city—this time a female. Though she lived in the County area of Whittier she had school ties to the community. She had a “No-Bail” warrant for truancy and was located after some effort. While at her home in the county area numerous similar “tags” matching those she vandalized throughout the city were located. She was arrested for the outstanding warrant and charges were filed for the open cases of vandalism throughout the city. Preliminary estimates believe she is responsible for approximately 100 taggings throughout the city at a total cost to the city of nearly $24,000. Again, because she is a juvenile her name cannot be released but she is 17 years old.

The Whittier Police Department SET team continues to actively pursue graffiti vandals throughout the city in an effort to make Whittier a cleaner more appealing community. It is believed that of all vandals caught and prosecuted, 80% usually will stop after their first conviction. The Whittier PD SET is committed to pursuing the chronic offenders.
Usually, the costs of cleanup are passed on to the convicted juvenile and their parents. Stiffer penalties are being explored through the court which could mean seeking civil judgments against the parents against their assets up to $25,000 as allowed by law. To date the City of Whittier has been awarded nearly $105,000 in restitution by the juvenile and adult courts as law enforcement and the courts crack down on offenders. Typically restitution is an order of the court imposed on the offender by probation.


The City of Whittier offers a reward program targeted at such vandals of $500 dollars. Any citizen who witnesses such vandalism in progress is encouraged to call the Whittier Police. Citizens making those calls resulting in the direct arrest of vandals are entitled to that $500 reward usually within 24 hours of the arrest.