Brian Mastre and Mike Plews, WOWT
June 1, 2009

A big concern for the incoming administration and many Omaha residents is graffiti. Those who have to clean it up call it a never-ending job. Now the state of Nebraska is upping the ante for taggers.

The graffiti van was busy cleaning up playground equipment Monday at Albright Park at 21st and Madison, one of many stops planned for the day.

Next door, Daffin Sales was busy rebuilding diesel engines. Employees are sick of dealing with graffiti on their warehouse.

"It's very disruptive and a nuisance and it's expensive to clean up,” said Melody Boardman. “Without the help of the graffiti van I don't know what we would do.”

She may soon have more help than just the graffiti van. Lawmakers, police and community leaders gathered in front of a graffiti-covered wall to praise LB 63. Under the new law, graffiti offenders can lose their driver's license, be made to clean up their work and even go to prison as felons.

“The bill contains enhanced punishment for graffiti offenders as well as alternative sentencing that works in other states," said State Sen. Jeremy Nordquist of Omaha.

"Under LB 63 the court can order restitution, it can order counseling and it can suspend a perpetrator's driver's license for a year. These programs have led to a decrease in crime in other communities across the state and that’s our hope here in Omaha."

The message was clear, things are going to change.

"I guess the message to people that are thinking that this is a casual crime, that they can do this and hear about their friends all yukking it up, they won't be laughing when they go to the penitentiary and that is a potential now that didn't exist until this bill was passed,” said Omaha City Prosecutor Marty Conboy.

City Councilman Garry Gernandt hopes it's not just the gangsters that pay attention to the new law. "We've got everybody within the criminal justice system and the community here. I issue the challenge to the judges, when these guys do their job, you do your’s."

Alberto Gonzalez of the Boys and Girls Club says this isn't just a criminal justice issue. "It's time the community understands, the parents, the young people, the city of Omaha, that Nebraska's not jacking around anymore with anybody. We have leaders that are ready to take steps and make a change, but it's going to take every single one of us.”

Boardman just wants the taggers to leave her business alone. “We came one morning and the trash can was graffitied and that's just senseless, it doesn't make any sense at all.”

Everyone agrees that a few bad apples with spray paint are defacing buildings and hurting a law-abiding community's image.

Richard Buchta has lived in Omaha for over 20 years and thinks the law is a good first step, saying graffiti gives a good neighborhood a bad name. "It can scare off a lot of good people and people want to kind of hide in their houses because of graffiti."