CRIM10001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Public Space, Reality Principle, Differential Association
15 Jun 2018
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CRIM10001 – Lecture 3a & 3b
Graffiti vandalism
What is it?
• A crime. The act of marking or defacing premises or other property without
permission
• Illegal graffiti involves markings applied to a publicly visible surface without the
popet oes consent, that are not easily removed
How much is there? Cost of removal?
• No real way to know how much there is besides records or convictions etc.
• Estimations on the cost of graffiti across Australia are of $1.5billion annually
• Smaller scale of offences compared to property offences of other kinds
o Ma e patl eause it is had to ath people i the at so e dot ko
Graffiti offenders
• It is a crime for which it is difficult to apprehend and therefore, prosecute offenders
• Men are predominantly the offenders (88.9% were males 2011-16)
• Juveniles have made up a significant proportion of offenders proceeded against
o Majority are teen or pre-teen boys, mostly from middle-class families and
most not doing well at school
Why look at graffiti?
• Very high political profile
o Maybe disproportionate to its objective impact
o Subjective element of disgust by people in power
• Fear and loathing in the walls – deplorable
How serious is it?
• Up to 2 years in prison and a maximum find of $38,057
• On the spot fines of $793
• Thousands of dollars for possession of a graffiti implement
• Police can search people for spray cans (not under 14yrs)
• Fines for selling implements to a child
Media portrayals
• The dot ae aout the ouit
• Non-cooperatives types who have no regard for the law
• Done by hoons
• The all it a ultue, ut a ultue igs to soiet, it doest take fo it
• Fos the ito gags ad fo thee its a stat to thei aee
• Organised crime – they steal cars, break into houses, cultivate drugs etc.
• A city tainted by vandalism invites more vandalism
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
The act of marking or defacing premises or other property without permission. Illegal graffiti involves markings applied to a publicly visible surface without the p(cid:396)ope(cid:396)t(cid:455) o(cid:449)(cid:374)e(cid:396)(cid:859)s consent, that are not easily removed. It is a crime for which it is difficult to apprehend and therefore, prosecute offenders: men are predominantly the offenders (88. 9% were males 2011-16) Juveniles have made up a significant proportion of offenders proceeded against: majority are teen or pre-teen boys, mostly from middle-class families and most not doing well at school. Why look at graffiti: very high political profile, maybe disproportionate to its objective impact, subjective element of disgust by people in power, fear and loathing in the walls deplorable. Key dichotomies: art / crime, order / disorder, purity / danger, public space / private space, responsible citizen / criminal other. Is graffiti an act of: agency, resistance, art, belonging, expression. Those who write graffiti are: young, organised criminals, hoons, ego-centric.
