Editorial: City isn't a canvas

About seven months ago the Statesville City Council introduced an anti-graffiti ordinance meant to curb local vandals who were spray painting their way around the city.

In October, the council passed the ordinance.

In early January, Statesville resident Montresha Ramseur had more than $300 worth of damage to her vehicle. Her neighbors' duplex and vehicle were also spray painted with vulgarities.

In mid-February, numerous utility boxes and structures were tagged with "dip Set," "Sur 13" and other gang-related words.

And this weekend, vehicles, a school, a business and other structures throughout the city served as canvasses for vandals' work, which included gang names and symbols and could total thousands of dollars in damage. One vehicle was almost completely covered in spray paint.

Under the anti-graffiti law, the penalty for the first offense is a $250 fine. The second and subsequent offenses would result in $500 fines, with the burden of proving innocence on the defendant's shoulders.

But, clearly, the ordinance - which bans what it calls "graffiti implements" and allows officers to arrest those in possession of such tools without good reason - isn't working.

Statesville Police Department Assistant Chief Tom Anderson said officers will be ramping up patrols in problem areas to enforce the law.

However, those who are using our homes, cars and schools for their spray pint portraits either aren't aware of the law or don't care - likely the latter. What's more, vandals are hard to catch in the act and even harder to find afterward.

Likely committed by youngsters bored and looking for "fun," these acts are defacing the city that nearly 25,000 people call home.

And home is just the place to stop this crime wave.

We can't expect patrol officers to monitor our teenage population 100 percent of the time - that's the job of parents.

Teaching your children respect for their neighbors and for themselves is the best tool for curbing vandalism, not an ordinance that is either loosely enforced or loosely respected.

At the same time, those who witness such crimes - and spray painting an entire car takes more than a few minutes - should take it upon themselves to report the wrongdoing.