After two months of rigorous investigating, more than 34 people have been arrested and accused of involvement in graffiti vandalism throughout the city of Watsonville. These graffiti tags have appeared on picnic tables, play equipment, fences, bridges, benches, and nature trails.
While some images may be creative and lively (and others just tags), the fact is that these expensive splashes of color bill the city more than $150,000 every year: a sharp pinch on the city’s already shaky budget.
Despite the efforts of 50 dedicated Human Care Alliance volunteers in February, the price of removal was too much for the city to bear in the current economic crisis. The police department began the fervent hunt for the artists soon after.
The process and arrests will be discussed in a news conference with the Watsonville police at the Watsonville Police Department on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.
Links:
Cops and Court: April 3, 2009 [Santa Cruz Sentinel]
Volunteers Attack Watsonville Graffiti [Santa Cruz Sentinel]
