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Restart: community, graffiti taggers and restorative justice
December 2008
In a perfect world, the rebellious 15 year old who has been graffiti tagging all over the neighbourhood would get to know the 76 year old owner of a building he damaged. Over a series of conversations, the kid and the old man would form a relationship based on mutual understanding and respect. Cops who have arrested kids doing illegal graffiti, city workers who clean up their tags, young adult artist mentors who have left the graffiti subculture, and community volunteers would work with the teenage taggers to create a stunning work of public art. A perfect world doesn’t exist, but last month we caught a glimpse of the shining, graffiti-free City on the Hill in a narrow lane off Commercial Drive.
The Restart (restorative justice through art) program was brought to our neighbourhood by the Grandview-Woodland Community Policing Centre. When a problem as pervasive as graffiti on Commercial Drive appears to be intractable, tackling it in a context of restorative justice seemed like common sense to the GWCPC. Youth involved in graffiti are part of our community, and it is our community’s responsibility to find a solution to benefit both the taggers and the neighbourhood.
Restart was created 5 years ago by 2 members of the Vancouver Police Anti-Graffiti Unit, Constables Valerie Spicer and Elizabeth Miller, who realized that arresting and charging teenage graffiti vandals did not help them leave the path that drew so many of them into additional criminal behaviour, did not help their victims and did not help our society.
With an initial grant from the Vancouver Police Foundation and subsequent help from other organizations and individuals, these enlightened officers developed a four part program for youth involved in illegal graffiti. At the first meeting taggers sat in a circle with Restart facilitators, artist mentors, police officers and representatives from the local community centre and business improvement association to create a team and a theme for a large scale mural.
At the next meeting there was a discussion of the effects of graffiti on the community: shop owners working hard on low margins who must spend time and money cleaning graffiti off their businesses and seniors who fear the tag on their garage means they are a gang target. In addition, the consequences for taggers from using toxic materials and the probability of being sucked into a criminal subculture was discussed. Most taggers had never realized the impact of their graffiti which they saw as a victimless crime. They viewed public space as a free canvas for their work, and police as fascists stifling their creativity.
At the third meeting artist mentors discussed how they have found commercial employment doing murals or working in the film industry and City staff offered legal art opportunities for participants. The theme of the mural was decided by the entire group and the kids worked with the artist mentors on designing and planning the large scale work.
The final step was painting the mural. With paint, materials and experienced staff supplied by Vancouver’s Graffiti Management Program, food provided by the BIA and the CPC, and the wall provided by the building owner, who had attended all the sessions, the day began early.
A volunteer Restart coordinator from the GWCPC, who had organized the project, worked with facilitators, artist mentors, staff from Britannia Centre and the BIA, and community volunteers to assist the young participants to bring their mural, “Dream Your Future”, to the wall in the lane off Commercial Drive.
What we have learned from this process is that adolescents involved in graffiti want a big urban canvas to do street art. No existing art programs for mainstream teens have what they want, and few programs want them. They need legal outlets for their creativity, and communities need to provide them.
Referrals to Restart can come from anyone in the criminal justice system, youth workers, concerned parents, school counselors or community agencies. Joining the program is voluntary and one key criteria is that participants cannot continue illegal graffiti. Over 5 years 100 kids have gone through the program and 70% have not re-offended. The 30% that have are welcome to attend another Restart session.
Through this project, with the guidance of the police and volunteers who have developed the Restart program, the Grandview-Woodland Community Policing Centre has created a template that other community organizations, churches or agencies can use to run Restart. This sustainable model for a community based restorative justice approach to youth involved in graffiti, involving local volunteers, police officers, community centres, business owners and artist mentors can be used in any neighbourhood.
“It takes a village to raise a child” and it takes a community to help our teenage children find a positive outlet for the artistic skills they are currently using in illegal graffiti.
Restart: community, graffiti taggers and restorative justice
December 2008
In a perfect world, the rebellious 15 year old who has been graffiti tagging all over the neighbourhood would get to know the 76 year old owner of a building he damaged. Over a series of conversations, the kid and the old man would form a relationship based on mutual understanding and respect. Cops who have arrested kids doing illegal graffiti, city workers who clean up their tags, young adult artist mentors who have left the graffiti subculture, and community volunteers would work with the teenage taggers to create a stunning work of public art. A perfect world doesn’t exist, but last month we caught a glimpse of the shining, graffiti-free City on the Hill in a narrow lane off Commercial Drive.
The Restart (restorative justice through art) program was brought to our neighbourhood by the Grandview-Woodland Community Policing Centre. When a problem as pervasive as graffiti on Commercial Drive appears to be intractable, tackling it in a context of restorative justice seemed like common sense to the GWCPC. Youth involved in graffiti are part of our community, and it is our community’s responsibility to find a solution to benefit both the taggers and the neighbourhood.
Restart was created 5 years ago by 2 members of the Vancouver Police Anti-Graffiti Unit, Constables Valerie Spicer and Elizabeth Miller, who realized that arresting and charging teenage graffiti vandals did not help them leave the path that drew so many of them into additional criminal behaviour, did not help their victims and did not help our society.
With an initial grant from the Vancouver Police Foundation and subsequent help from other organizations and individuals, these enlightened officers developed a four part program for youth involved in illegal graffiti. At the first meeting taggers sat in a circle with Restart facilitators, artist mentors, police officers and representatives from the local community centre and business improvement association to create a team and a theme for a large scale mural.
At the next meeting there was a discussion of the effects of graffiti on the community: shop owners working hard on low margins who must spend time and money cleaning graffiti off their businesses and seniors who fear the tag on their garage means they are a gang target. In addition, the consequences for taggers from using toxic materials and the probability of being sucked into a criminal subculture was discussed. Most taggers had never realized the impact of their graffiti which they saw as a victimless crime. They viewed public space as a free canvas for their work, and police as fascists stifling their creativity.
At the third meeting artist mentors discussed how they have found commercial employment doing murals or working in the film industry and City staff offered legal art opportunities for participants. The theme of the mural was decided by the entire group and the kids worked with the artist mentors on designing and planning the large scale work.
The final step was painting the mural. With paint, materials and experienced staff supplied by Vancouver’s Graffiti Management Program, food provided by the BIA and the CPC, and the wall provided by the building owner, who had attended all the sessions, the day began early.
A volunteer Restart coordinator from the GWCPC, who had organized the project, worked with facilitators, artist mentors, staff from Britannia Centre and the BIA, and community volunteers to assist the young participants to bring their mural, “Dream Your Future”, to the wall in the lane off Commercial Drive.
What we have learned from this process is that adolescents involved in graffiti want a big urban canvas to do street art. No existing art programs for mainstream teens have what they want, and few programs want them. They need legal outlets for their creativity, and communities need to provide them.
Referrals to Restart can come from anyone in the criminal justice system, youth workers, concerned parents, school counselors or community agencies. Joining the program is voluntary and one key criteria is that participants cannot continue illegal graffiti. Over 5 years 100 kids have gone through the program and 70% have not re-offended. The 30% that have are welcome to attend another Restart session.
Through this project, with the guidance of the police and volunteers who have developed the Restart program, the Grandview-Woodland Community Policing Centre has created a template that other community organizations, churches or agencies can use to run Restart. This sustainable model for a community based restorative justice approach to youth involved in graffiti, involving local volunteers, police officers, community centres, business owners and artist mentors can be used in any neighbourhood.
“It takes a village to raise a child” and it takes a community to help our teenage children find a positive outlet for the artistic skills they are currently using in illegal graffiti.