Fresno, CA (August 25, 2009) Councilmember Henry T. Perea publicly announces his opposition of the discontinuation of the City of Fresno’s graffiti prosecution program. The program, through which graffiti cases are prosecuted by the City Attorney's office, has been defunded by the Police department as a reaction to recent budget cuts.

On August 13, a memo by the City Attorney's office informed Council that Police had decided to defund the prosecution of graffiti cases. The Police Department has asked, as of July 22, 2009, that the City Attorney’s office discontinue prosecution of graffiti cases. Since 2007 the City has prosecuted 368 cases, 246 of which were juveniles and 122 of which were adults. 202 juveniles and 65 adults have been placed on parole through this program.

“As a representative of neighborhoods that deal with graffiti and tagging problems on a daily basis, I strongly oppose this decision. These cases will go back to the District Attorney’s office, which is already overworked and underfunded, and will fall to the bottom of the list. Our inner city will be left to fall victim to urban blight yet again. We cannot abandoned certain neighborhoods or ignore particular crimes because of financial pressure. It is our job to find ways to improve the quality of life in Fresno during all times and I urge a reconsideration of this new policy.”