Teen Vandalism

Although sometimes viewed as juvenile pranks, teen vandalism is actually

criminal. To find out more about teen vandalism, continue this article.
Definition of Vandalism
The official definition of vandalism is given by the Uniform Crime Reporting
(UCR) division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It says that
vandalism is willful or malicious destruction, injury, disfigurement, or
defacement of any public or private property, real or personal, without the
consent of the owner or persons having custody or control as stated in the
most recent Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Fact Sheet
on Juvenile Vandalism, issued in July 2000.
Vandalism includes a wide variety of acts such as:
posting graffiti in public places
breaking or throwing items out of windows
smashing mailboxes
stealing
trashing unguarded property, often empty buildings and/or lots and public or
semi-public toilet facilities; school property is often a target
setting fires
tampering with equipment, such as vending machines and pay telephones
setting false fire alarms
damaging parked cars
damaging trees
Understanding Teen Vandalism
Some of the behaviors and situations that are linked to teen vandalism include:
binge drinking
seeking money to buy drugs
peer pressure
feeling hostile towards the property owner
In the case of graffiti, however, there may be other factors at works. At least
some graffiti vandals (as the New York Police Department chooses to refer to
them) consider themselves graffiti artists or street artists. It seems that
these individuals view their efforts to be towards ornamenting or enhancing
coupled with self expression. The international fame of Banksy, the English
graffiti artist, and other graffiti artists has likely contributed to teen confusion
about whether graffiti vandalism should be considered criminal.
And, in fact, teens graffiti creations-while not in sanctioned places-may have
artistic merit. This possibility places this type of teen vandalism in contrast to
types of vandalism in which items are devalued through being smashed or
broken. That is, smashing property is wrong because it damages property.
Graffiti is wrong because it is created in the wrong place. While addressing
teen vandalism often involves reparation and repair of damaged property,
addressing teen vandalism involving graffiti may also involve providing the
individual with a sanctioned place in which to perform his or her art and
opportunities to put the talent to a positive use.
Consequences of Teen Vandalism
Besides repairing damage to structures, covering graffiti, replacing ruined
property, there are other high costs to teen vandalism. Publicly viewable
vandalism changes the atmosphere of a place. It may give the impression that
the people in the area do not value their space and that the area is not
well-protected and perhaps unsafe. This may result in reduced use of the area
in and around the damaged property. Property, such as subway cars, that has
to be removed from service in order to be cleaned of graffiti or repaired also
can cause disruption of service.
Addressing Teen Vandalism
Different approaches are taken to teen vandalism. Education is one approach.
Making sure that teens can distinguish pranks from vandalism is one issue
addressed. Repairing and restoring property, which has been found to ease
public concerns as well, is another. Reparation is often part of the restitution if
a teen vandal is caught.
A third approach to preventing teen vandalism is prevention. One way of
preventing vandalism is providing alternative activities for teens. Teen centers,
schools, and community groups may sponsor alcohol-free activities, for
example. Patrols in areas that are susceptible to vandalism may also help
discourage teen vandals fromharming it.