The Writing on the walls: Using Graffiti as an Investigation Tool
Graffiti has been used to solve all types of crimes in a variety of ways. This article will describe a few. Keep in mind that graffiti is the newspaper of the streets, written by street people. And street people are the ones committing most of the crimes.
1) Identifying a vandal responsible for a destruction of property by making graffiti.
Vandals, while destroying property, leave several traces and trails behind. They leave a handwriting sample that is unique to them. They also make the mistake of leaving behind fingerprints. Vandals also tend to tag up on their way to a specific vandalism and tag up on their way back home or to their hangouts making them, sometimes, easy to track.2) Identifying a witness to a crime.
Tags and graffiti in a specific area can tell an investigator who is frequenting the area and when. It can also link people together who may have pertinent information in a particular crime.3) Locating a suspect in a series of burglaries.
Often, burglars are taggers or gang members and they tend to tag up in an area close to where they commit crimes. Analyzing the tags in a specific area close to a crime can help identify potential suspects and develop a list of suspects for analysis of fingerprints or DNA.4) Developing a lead in a recent drive-by shooting
Drive-by shootings are usually related to gang activity and often there is some indication listed on a wall, or other canvass, describing a disrespect, a threat, or an outright murder contract on the intended victim or his gang.5) Locating a potential witness to the whereabouts of a Missing Person.
Many youth who decide to run away have dabbled or been prolific in graffiti and tagging. Analysis of the Missing Person’s tag may give some indication of the whereabouts. Also, the release of the person’s tag to law enforcement officers may result in that tag being identified in another jurisdiction and lead to the locating of the person.6) Tracking down the hangouts of a gang member wanted for a Homicide.
Identification of gang graffiti and tags will help identify, not only the tag or street name of a homicide suspect, it will give an investigator plenty of leads where to look for the suspect and plenty of names of persons affiliated with the suspect. These affiliates can be debriefed and even arrested for graffiti making.7) Using Graffiti as Leverage.
When a suspect, suspect’s associates, or witnesses are uncooperative, having the ability to arrest them for a crime like graffiti will give an officer an opportunity to brig them in and debrief them for information.
