Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's Holly Perez talked about graffiti and tagging as an issue they are facing. The Tracking Automated and Graffiti Reporting System (TAGRS) is used to store and track incidents. It is a free shared database in their area for law enforcement to help identify and prosecute graffiti suspects.
Perez said they have formed a partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) as many taggers are still in school. Another avenue that has been helpful is social media. Sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and other social sites are often where they find pictures of "work" done to identify people.
The other challenge Perez discussed was metal theft, and in particular, copper wire theft.
Another issue is the copper wire theft and metal theft, in general. They have been utilizing intelligence-led policing (ILP), a business model where data analysis and crime intelligence are used for objective, decision-making to create effective enforcement strategies targeting serious offenders. There are also detective case load issues they're experiencing, Perez said.