Vandalism: Graffiti and Gang Technology Fund.

Under existing law, a person is guilty of vandalism if he or she maliciously destroys, damages, or defaces with graffiti or other inscribed material any real or personal property that is not his or her own. The court is authorized to order a defendant who is convicted of vandalism to clean up, repair, or replace the damaged property, or to order the defendant, and his or her parents if the defendant is a minor, to keep the damaged property or another specified property in the community free of graffiti for up to one year. Under existing law, any person who actively participates in any criminal street gang with knowledge that its members engage in a pattern of criminal gang activity and who promotes felonious criminal conduct by members of that gang is guilty of a felony and shall be punished, as specified. Existing law establishes the Graffiti Removal and Damage Recovery Program by which a city, county, city and county, or other public agency may elect to have the probation officer of the county recoup for it, through juvenile court proceedings, the costs associated with the defacement by minors of its property and the property of others, as specified. The program requires minors who are found to be within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court by reason of committing specified acts of vandalism, as a condition of probation, to wash, paint, repair, or replace the property defaced, damaged, or destroyed by the minor or otherwise pay restitution as well as the costs of identifying and apprehending the minor, as specified. The court is required to order the minor or the minor's estate to pay those costs to the probation officer to the extent the court determines that the minor or the minor's estate have the ability to do so, as specified. This bill would provide that any person who commits specified acts of vandalism shall, in addition to any other punishment, pay a fine of $150, or $300 if the person is also determined to have committed a gang-related offense, as defined. By increasing the punishment for existing crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would establish the Graffiti and Gang Technology Fund for deposit of the vandalism fines, to be continuously appropriated to the Department of Justice exclusively for the direct or indirect costs of technological advancements for law enforcement in the identification and apprehension of vandals and gang members, as specified. The bill would provide that the distribution of funds shall be made by the CalGang Executive Board based on the recommendations of the California Gang Node Advisory Committee and the California Graffiti Advisory Committee. The bill would require the department to maintain annual fiscal reports on the fund, and to prepare an annual report with specified information for submission to the CalGang Executive Board. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.