Graffiti vandalism is an expensive crime to repair. The costs of damages and repair are escalating each year. The National Graffiti Information Network did a survey in the 1990’s, estimating the costs of damage to be about 8 billion dollars in the United States. In 2008 the NoGraf conference reported their experts found the annual graffiti vandalism costs the United States 25 billion dollars. The state of Pennsylvania graffiti repair comes in with about 2.3 million dollars in 2012. The cost even hits tax payers’ pockets costing average of $2.00 to $4.00 per person that pays state taxes and that is just for repair of public buildings. Take into consideration the cost to the vandal’s hefty fines, criminal record if caught, and vandal will still be held responsible for repairs. Graffiti Vandalism is a public nuisance, impacting communities in a negative way.
Graffiti Vandalism takes away funds from the local neighborhood. When graffiti is found on businesses in a local community it gives the business a bad appearance. Often when graffiti is seen on a building or in a neighborhood, it can be believed by some that the neighborhood is bad or unsafe, this is discouraging to potential shoppers causing the businesses that occupy the local community to lose sales. The appearance of graffiti spray painted on a small business can give the perception that business owners don’t care about the community they serve. Not many people pick a graffiti filled neighborhood as their first choice to live. When graffiti is spray painted on buildings people may assume it is gang related. Assumptions can be made that gangs occupy the neighborhood causing housing sales to decrease. When graffiti