Editing Graffiti (section)

=== United States ===

{{Main|Graffiti in the United States}}
[[Image:Elevator graffiti.jpg|thumb|right|An elevator position indicator with scratch graffiti]]

==== Tracker databases ====

Graffiti databases have increased in the past decade because they allow vandalism incidents to be fully documented against an offender and help the police and prosecution charge and prosecute offenders for multiple counts of vandalism. They also provide law enforcement the ability to rapidly search for an offender's moniker or tag in a simple, effective, and comprehensive way. These systems can also help track costs of damage to a city to help allocate an anti-graffiti budget. The theory is that when an offender is caught putting up graffiti, they are not just charged with one count of vandalism; they can be held accountable for all the other damage for which they are responsible. This has two main benefits for law enforcement. One, it sends a signal to the offenders that their vandalism is being tracked. Two, a city can seek restitution from offenders for all the damage that they have committed, not merely a single incident. These systems give law enforcement personnel real-time, street-level intelligence that allows them not only to focus on the worst graffiti offenders and their damage, but also to monitor potential gang violence that is associated with the graffiti.<ref name=crcp>{{Cite web|url=http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439839348|title=Chapter 8 |work= Introduction to Criminal Investigation. Editor(s) Michael Birzer and Cliff Roberson }}</ref>

==== Gang injunctions ====

Many restrictions of civil gang injunctions are designed to help address and protect the physical environment and limit graffiti. Provisions of gang injunctions include things such as restricting the possession of marker pens, spray paint cans, or other sharp objects capable of defacing private or public property; spray painting, or marking with marker pens, scratching, applying stickers, or otherwise applying graffiti on any public or private property, including, but not limited to the street, alley, residences, block walls, and fences, vehicles or any other real or personal property. Some injunctions contain wording that restricts damaging or vandalizing both public and private property, including but not limited to any vehicle, light fixture, door, fence, wall, gate, window, building, street sign, utility box, telephone box, tree, or power pole.<ref name=crcp2>{{Cite web|url=http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439867877;jsessionid=oiq+Tqxg3f+0sNwBYnDx+Q**|title=gang abatement|work=Gang Injunctions and Abatement: Using Civil Remedies to Curb Gang Related Crimes|first=Matthew|last=O'Deane|access-date=21 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015105055/http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439867877;jsessionid=oiq+Tqxg3f+0sNwBYnDx+Q**|archive-date=15 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Hotlines and reward programs ====

To help address many of these issues, many local jurisdictions have set up graffiti abatement hotlines, where citizens can call in and report vandalism and have it removed. San Diego's hotline receives more than 5,000 calls per year, in addition to reporting the graffiti, callers can learn more about prevention. One of the complaints about these hotlines is the response time; there is often a lag time between a property owner calling about the graffiti and its removal. The length of delay should be a consideration for any jurisdiction planning on operating a hotline. Local jurisdictions must convince the callers that their complaint of vandalism will be a priority and cleaned off right away. If the jurisdiction does not have the resources to respond to complaints in a timely manner, the value of the hotline diminishes. Crews must be able to respond to individual service calls made to the graffiti hotline as well as focus on cleanup near schools, parks, and major intersections and transit routes to have the biggest impact. Some cities offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of suspects for tagging or graffiti related vandalism. The amount of the reward is based on the information provided, and the action taken.<ref name=lawtec>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lawtechcustompublishing.com/publication.asp?pid=47 |title=gang |work=Gangs: Theory, Practice and Research |first=Matthew |last=O'Deane |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305003323/http://www.lawtechcustompublishing.com/publication.asp?pid=47 |archive-date=5 March 2016 }}</ref>

==== Search warrants ====

When police obtain search warrants in connection with a vandalism investigation, they are often seeking judicial approval to look for items such as cans of spray paint and nozzles from other kinds of aerosol sprays; etching tools, or other sharp or pointed objects, which could be used to etch or scratch glass and other hard surfaces; permanent marking pens, markers, or paint sticks; evidence of membership or affiliation with any gang or tagging crew; paraphernalia including any reference to "(tagger's name)"; any drawings, writing, objects, or graffiti depicting taggers' names, initials, logos, monikers, slogans, or any mention of tagging crew membership; and any newspaper clippings relating to graffiti crime.<ref name=paladin>{{Cite web|url=http://www.paladin-press.com/product/Gang_Investigators_Handbook/Gangs |title=gang |work=Gang Investigators Handbook |first=Matthew |last=O'Deane}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" caption="Graffiti in the United States">
SUBWAY CAR - NARA - 554325.jpg|Rampant graffiti hampers visibility into and out of [[New York City Subway]] cars (1973).
Graffiti Tunnel (2078441177).jpg|Graffiti-lined tunnel in [[San Francisco]]
Smear Street Art1.jpg|Graffiti in [[Los Angeles]] (2006)
Love your country, not government.jpg|Anti-governmental graffiti in [[Bolinas, California]]
I'm a Man Mural in Memphis 2.jpg|Protest art in [[Memphis, Tennessee]]
Cortlandt Alley, New York-L1002108.jpg|Graffiti in Cortlandt Alley, [[Tribeca]], [[Lower Manhattan]] (2023)
</gallery>