Phoenix officials held a workshop Thursday at city hall aimed at giving residents the tools to fight illicit graffiti spraying.
Workshop organizers taught representatives from different city neighborhoods how to testify in court and attempt to prosecute people tagging property.
“We want neighborhoods to feel like their voices are being heard at the sentencing and the judges to take their opinions into consideration,” said Rachel Milne of the city’s Neighborhood Services Department.
Assistant City Prosecutor Jessica Breedlove led the representatives through the steps of completing a Victim Impact Statement. The statement is a chance for the victim to explain what happened, how the graffiti has affected him or her family and to tell the judge what he or she thinks the punishment should be.
Breedlove said sometimes a victim will not want to prosecute because he or she is afraid and not sure what to expect.
The goal of Thursday’s workshop was to help empower and give confidence to victims during trials, Breedlove said.
Stephen Valdivia III, community liaison from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Victim Services Division, said short-term counseling is often available to victims if they are in need of it.
“We are hoping to have an information exchange between the office and the community,” Valdivia said.
Breedlove later brought the group to the city courthouse to show them where a sentencing would be held. In the courtroom, Breedlove explained how a person testifying should prepare and what questions could be asked while on the stand.
“We want to show these people that the person they will be speaking to isn’t scary,” Breedlove said. “The biggest part is fear and not knowing what to expect.”
Phoenix resident Rick Avellone’s house has been vandalized numerous times during the last 20 years.
Avellone said he hopes this will help educate judges on what graffiti does to neighborhoods other than cause damage.
“Graffiti doesn’t just hurt our properties,” Avellone said. “Businesses don’t want to come into these areas for fear that it will bring the wrong kinds of people in.”
The neighborhood representatives who attended the workshop said they want the graffiti to stop and want to be involved with the process.
“We see new graffiti probably on a weekly basis,” said Terry Ullery, who regularly monitors his neighborhood.
Ullery said he felt the workshop gave him the tools to testify in court. He said he now knows what to expect and who to talk to, which makes him feel better about testifying.
Breedlove said making a report is important and necessary to prosecute criminals. Even if the person who makes the report isn’t comfortable coming to every court hearing, it is vital to at least make the report.
“Just coming down makes a difference,” Breedlove said. “Whether they give the sentencing you want or not, you have made a difference.”
Contact the reporter at Andrea.Daly@asu.edu
