California law makes it a crime to deface, damage, or destroy the real or personal property belonging to another person. The crime is termed “vandalism," which is a misdemeanor, unless the monetary damage is great, and then it is a felony. A misdemeanor is a crime punishable by a term in the county jail for no more than a year. A felony, on the other hand, is punished by a term in the state prison. Some vandalism crimes are referred to as “wobblers." Wobblers are punishable as either a felony or a misdemeanor.
Vandalism may include spray painting words or pictures, using paint, writing with felt tip markers, using a knife to cut into wood or scrape away existing paint to express a message, among many other variations. Vandalism can be directed towards the property of a private person, a group, or towards the city, as with traffic signs and buses. Vandalism can also be directed towards religious groups, which may be charged as a hate crime, punishable as a felony.
In an effort to lessen the impact of vandalism, cities and counties are allowed to pass ordinances restricting the sale of aerosol containers of paint or other liquid substances which could be used for graffiti purposes. Cities are also allowed to set forth civil regulations and penalties governing the placement of graffiti on public or private property.
The very act of possessing the means to commit vandalism, such as possessing a drill bit, glass cutter, grinding stone, awl, chisel, aerosol paint container, felt tip marker, or any other marking substance with the intent to commit vandalism is a misdemeanor.
In addition to fines and imprisonment in a county jail or prison, the person convicted of vandalism is often ordered to participate in community service programs cleaning up graffiti, as a condition of probation. Where the conviction involves a minor, defined as being under the age of 18, the parents may be ordered to pay the fines ordered by the court.
California Penal Code Section 594 defines the level of punishment according to the extent of damage:
§ If the amount of defacement, damage, or destruction is $400 or more, vandalism is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison or in a county jail not exceeding one year, and/or by a fine up to $10,000
§ If the amount of defacement, damage, or destruction is $10,000 or more, vandalism is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison or in a county jail not exceeding one year, and/or a fine up to $50,000.
§ If the amount of defacement, damage, or destruction is less than $400, vandalism is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, and/or by a fine up to $1,000
§ If the amount of defacement, damage, or destruction is less than $400, and the defendant has been previously convicted of vandalism or affixing graffiti, vandalism is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year, and/or by a fine up to $5,000.
§ Upon conviction of any person under this section for acts of vandalism consisting of defacing property with graffiti or other inscribed materials, the court may, in addition to any punishment already imposed, order the defendant to clean up, repair, or replace the damaged property himself or herself, or order the defendant, and his or her parents or guardians if the defendant is a minor, to keep the damaged property or another specified property in the community free of graffiti for up to one year. Participation of a parent or guardian is not required under this subdivision if the court deems this participation to be detrimental to the defendant, or if the parent or guardian is a single parent who must care for young children.
Vandalism that involves noxious substances, such as butyric acid or any type of caustic chemical are punishable by imprisonment in the state prison or in the county jail. The level of damage will dictate the fine, as defined by PC 594.4:
§ If the amount of the defacement, damage, destruction, or contamination is $50,000 or more, the fine may reach as high as $50,000.
§ If the amount of the defacement, damage, destruction, or contamination is less than $50,000 but more than $5,000, the fine may reach as high as $10,000.
§ If the amount of defacement, damage, destruction, or contamination is less than five thousand dollars ($5,000), but more than $400, the fine may reach as high as $5,000.
§ If the amount of the defacement, damage, destruction, or contamination is less than $400, the fine may reach as high as $1,000.
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