The Maryvale Precinct is partnering with neighborhoods, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, the Juvenile Correctional Center, the Neighborhood Services Department and the City Prosecutor’s Office to combat graffiti crimes in the precinct. The goal is to streamline the prosecution process of graffiti suspects, consistent sentencing from the courts, and to have the suspects involved in cleaning areas that their crime has affected as part of their sentence.
The Maryvale Precinct has detectives and officers designated to investigate Graffiti and Gang Crimes, Detectives Jason Smith and Officers Anthony Hurtado and Tom Watson. The detectives/officers focus their efforts on the most common “tag crews” and monikers in the precinct. Information is received from the Neighborhood Services Graffiti Tracker program that allows us to charge suspects for the aggregate amount of damage caused by their “tag”.
Oftentimes by investigating a “tag” or “tag crew”, information is developed reference a multitude of other serious offenses and the “tag crew” becomes a documented criminal street “gang”.
To learn more about what the Maryvale Precinct is doing to combat graffiti, please contact Lieutenant MacConnell at 602-495-5968.