Emmy Armstrong and Grace Andresen 

April 4, 2024

Curry County has more property crimes, such as graffiti and vandalism, than any other crime category, and it shows in the public spaces. In the school bathrooms, the stalls are frequently covered in foul language and tagging names. Vandalism covers many local spaces. 

The vandalism in the Brookings community has many negative effects, such as lowering tourism, causing financial burdens, and increasing the crime rate. It can also reduce property value and cause safety hazards. Seeing vandalized spaces can create tension and frustration within a community, leading to a lower quality of life. 

According to Barry Woods, president of Graffiti Control Systems in North Hollywood, around 80% of graffiti is tagging, which is what local students see the most. 

“It’s always been a thing, and it will probably always stay a thing,” Shawn Silva, the Head Custodian at Brookings Harbor High School, said.

However, there are positive effects to kinds of graffiti and street art that many may call vandalism. When done in legal, safe spaces, street art can bring vibrancy to otherwise plain areas, and also provide a sense of community and ownership to a space. 

People like to contribute to their environment, and when there is a safe space for art, it can improve community engagement and create a sense of belonging. 

“To a certain point, vandalism is a part of our school,” said Silva. 

Vandalism is a recognized issue, but why do people do it?  “Vandalism to me is basically anger,” Dr. Jeffery Chase, a clinical psychologist and psychology professor at Radford University, said. 

People may commit vandalism to raise awareness, share a political ideology, or just for a creative outlet. It could also act as a way for them to express emotions, as a lot of vandalism is rooted in a “displacement of anger,” Chase said.

In the past four years, there have been 353 counts of criminal vandalism in Curry County, and 1,767 counts of property crimes, as stated by the Oregon State Police. This is tough on the city, its workers, and the residents here. Vandalism in the schools affects janitors, and “always has a cost,” said Silva. 

It negatively affects communities by making public spaces appear unsafe, or run down. Forms of vandalism, such as breaking windows or slashing tires, can cause large safety hazards, and possibly lead to injury.

However, not all public art is dangerous. The debate about whether graffiti is art or vandalism is longstanding and complex, but most street art such as murals and sculptures are made with the permission of the landowner, or the artist is hired to create a work for that space. In many places, legal graffiti walls have been implemented to keep graffiti away from important areas in the town, and they have proven to be highly effective, according to ACT City Services. 

When done legally and safely, street art provides an emotional outlet for people who would otherwise be engaging in the destruction of property. Even in Brookings, there is a chalk wall, and while spray paint is not allowed, it still provides a place for locals to express themselves in a way they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. 

Graffiti can expose new artists to the public, turn drab areas into bolder ones, and bring awareness to social issues. Art brings people together and can uplift a community.

“Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing,” Banksy, a British graffiti artist, said. 

Street art, unlike vandalism, adds to a place and is a positive experience for both the community and the artist. But, to truly understand the effects of vandalism, we have to look at where the culture comes from.

Vandalism and other property crimes have affected communities throughout history since roughly 1980 and have been going up and down since, usually people use vandalism to make a statement or express themselves artistically. 

The difference between vandalism and graffiti is one is harmful and one is expressive, graffiti is usually used to express yourself or bring creativity into a community. 

Vandalism is generally used to destroy property, like breaking windows or doors. Graffiti is generally used to make a point so something might change, or because they are angry at someone or something like a business owner for bad service.

Vandalism has usually been cause by people angry about something political, or a problem in their community or society. Vandalism is generally committed by people in the mid and lower class because they are the people affected by political changes and societal issues. Vandalism is also mostly taken care of by the people that are affected by it.

Statistics say delinquents and younger groups of people are more likely to commit property crimes, we can uses that to target where we focus our prevention programs and also see where we should be looking for vandalism such as schools and parks.

Something important that people should be doing and can do to prevent vandalism is reporting it. Reporting it can reduce property crimes by making people afraid to be charged with vandalism because people will start being held more accountable. People can also set a better example by not vandalizing, reporting it, and trying to prevent it.

According to a report by the FBI, since 2015 property crimes have gone down dramatically and we can use that to see what we did to prevent it so we can continue to keep that statistic low.

People can help by report vandalism around the city to multiple resources that are provided to the public. They can also help by setting a good example to others by not vandalizing, reporting it, and trying to prevent it.

“Respect the place like you would your home,” Silva said, on how to reduce vandalism in public spaces such as parks or schools. Or, in his words, just “don’t be stupid.”

If people are affected by vandalism, report it. There are many resources for people who were the victim of a crime available on the Oregon Department of Justice’s website. 

However, the most important thing is to work as a member of a community to keep the city clean and safe.

Photo Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Graffiti_Art_%2849256492096%29.jpg