Graffiti vandals may escape criminal record

Two taggers who caused thousands of dollars in damage when they plastered a stretch of Mount Maunganui properties with swear words and slogans look likely to avoid criminal convictions _ and their victims are furious.
The case comes as the Government today announced that sales of spray paint to under 18-year-olds will be banned under a nationwide offensive on tagging.
Prime Minister Helen Clark was to reveal today a range of measures, including a law-change to make graffiti-painting a specific offence with harsher penalties under property damage laws or council bylaws.
In the Mount Maunganui case, the 17-year-olds were offered diversion by police in Tauranga District Court yesterday. If they complete it there will be no criminal record of their drunken "tagging mission" of December 16.
One of their victims today described the diversion move as "pathetic" while another said it sent the wrong message to the community.
The identity of one of the taggers _ a college student _ could also be permanently secret after his lawyer, Tony Balme, successfully argued for interim name suppression yesterday.
Mr Balme said his client, who with his tagging partner pleaded guilty to five counts of wilful damage when he appeared in court last month, was a "fine young man from a fine family".
The other tagger did not seek name suppression. He is Chas Karaka of Pyes Pa.
When the teens appeared before Community Magistrate Robyn Paterson yesterday, their lawyers said police had decided to offer the pair the chance to be considered for police diversion and their convictions should be vacated in the meantime.
Mr Balme said the diversion was subject to reparation being paid to the victims.
The pair, who admitted tagging initials, letters, slogans, diagrams and swear words on fences, garage doors and brick work in Stawell Ave, Oceanbeach Rd and Paterson St on December 15, have until April 3 to complete the diversion process.
If they do not, they face the prospect of coming back before the court.
Ian McLeod's cedar garage door was sprayed from top to bottom with graffiti. The letters PB and swear words seeped into the soft timber, forcing him to have the door replaced at a cost of $3000.
Today he told the Bay of Plenty Times the diversion offer was "pathetic".
The taggers should have been made to pay reparation of $3000.
"Somebody should have to pay, every action should have a reaction," he said.
Another victim, Colleen Dekkers, was shocked. The taggers had been dealt with too softly and it sent the wrong message to the rest. "They get name suppression and a couple of days in court, big deal."
Victim Andrew Scott said: "It's a bit of a disappointment when it takes an effort to catch people and there is no real consequence."
Senior Sergeant at Mount Maunganui Tania Kura said police were obliged to offer diversion if it was a person's first offence.
"It's more or less a `have to' (for police to offer diversion),' she said. ``It relates more to what sort of history they've got. If they're 17 years old, they do a one-off thing, why should they get a conviction?"
In the government announcement today, as well as fines, the penalties will include community work and restorative justice orders requiring taggers to clean up the damage they do, or make reparation some other way.
It was expected there would be more money to help councils and community groups do anti-graffiti work.