Suburban Police Chief Makes Gang Leaders Pay For Graffiti

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POSEN, Ill. (STNG) - Police are having a hard time stopping gang members from spray painting their graffiti throughout the village.
 
So they have adopted a rather unique approach to combating the problem. If they can't get the actual person who did it, police will go after specific gang leaders and hold them responsible for what their minions do.

This week, the village's hearing officer presided over the first such case in which a known gang leader was fined $1,600 for eight separate cases of vandalism, officials said.

In each case, the graffiti was identifiable and clearly associated with a specific gang, officials said.

Posen police Chief Gerald Vetter said the vandalism is a violation of village ordinance and technically is a civil matter. Civil cases require proof based upon the preponderance of evidence, not proof beyond a reasonable doubt as in criminal cases, he said.

That difference allowed the police to go after a known gang leader who lives in the village.

Vetter declined to identify the man and his gang affiliation. But presented as evidence at the hearing this week was testimony the man gave in 2006 where he identified himself as a gang chief, Vetter said.

The man indicated he would appeal the case to Cook County court, Vetter said.

Vetter said he came up with the idea and decided to see how it would work.

He saw a similarity in the way gangs and any other organizations were structured. So he decided that gang leadership should be held responsible just like any other company leader would be if an employee did something wrong.

As an example, Vetter said if a company truck drove by and dumped oil in the street, a resident might not be able to identify the driver. But the company is identifiable and could therefore be held responsible.

"Why can't we hold these gang leaders responsible," he said. "They have a membership and bylaws. Why not treat them the same way? I'm held responsible for the things my officers do."

Posen Mayor Don Schupek said he and the village board were fully supportive of the idea when it was presented to them.

He said it was another step in attempting to stop graffiti and keep gangs out of the village.

"It's a unique solution to a problem that's been difficult to control," Schupek said.

Vetter acknowledges if the man in question appeals his case to the Markham courthouse, a judge could overturn the village's decision.

In that case, he said he would respect the court's ruling and look into tweaking the process to give the village's cases a better chance of standing up in court.

"It's become a question of how far we want to push this thing," Vetter said. "But this is an attempt to do something rather than just sit back and let it happen. It seemed like the best thing to do."