Juvenile Decoy

With the intent of reducing graffiti, an Oceanside Police Department task force conducted a sting on 15 paint retailers on June 22. Six citations were issued to business owners for having open paint displays and for selling to minors.

According to Sgt. Kelan Poorman of the administrative services unit, “A juvenile decoy was sent into the store to purchase spray paint. If the spray paint display case was locked, as per California law, the decoy would attempt to have a clerk open the display. If the locker was open, the juvenile decoy would attempt to purchase the spray paint.”

The names of the retailers targeted and cited during the operation were not disclosed.

Oceanside’s “Code Enforcement Program Quarterly Report,” spanning January to March of 2009, states that, “Graffiti enforcement efforts have resulted in an approximate 63% reduction in graffiti-related cases in comparison to the same quarter last year.” The report states that 231 “Graffiti/Oceanside Eyes” issues were reported for the first quarter of 2009, while 626 issues were reported in the same quarter of 2008.