Graffiti and murals: what are minors at risk?

Writings, drawings and paintings on walls, walls and buildings, public or private: is it a crime? How does the juvenile trial work?

The boundary between art and crime is not always clear: the many street artists who, due to their works, have had problems with the law know this well. In this precise context the following question arises: What are the risks for minors who create graffiti?

In essence, it is a question of understanding what sanctions can be incurred by young people who – for fun or passion – create writings, drawings or actual murals on walls and buildings, public and private. Let’s delve deeper into the question.

Murals and graffiti: are they a crime?

Who achieves

murals or graffiti risks being indicted crime of defacement and soiling of other people’s things, punished by art. 639 of the penal code:

• with the fine up to 309 euros, if the act is committed to the detriment of movable things;
• with the imprisonment from one to six months or a fine from 300 to 1,000 euros, if the crime is committed on real estate or on means of transport, public or private.

Nonetheless, according to the Court of Cassation (20 April 2016, n. 16371), if the wall has already been completely defaced and defaced by unknown persons and the graffiti artist acted with the intent to embellish the facade and to carry out a remedial intervention, carrying out a work of objective artistic valuewe cannot speak of soiling of the wall and, therefore, the crime does not exist.

In summary, graffiti is not a crime if the drawing on the wall is artistic and there are other conditions (for example, the previous state of the property) that allow for exclude contamination.

Graffiti and murals: what are minors at risk?

THE minors they are often dedicated to creating graffiti and murals; for this reason, they are frequently reported to the authorities for

crime of soiling analyzed above. What punishment do they risk incurring?

Since this is an overall minor crime, the underage accused of the crime of defacement can avoid conviction in three different ways:

• first of all, asking to access the testedi.e. a recovery program which involves the minor’s participation in voluntary and socially useful activities, as well as the commitment to dedicate himself to school or work activities;
• alternatively, the minor reported for having created graffiti and murals can hope for a request for dismissal/acquittal for irrelevance of the fact. During the investigations, if the fact appears to be minor and the behavior occasional, the prosecutor can ask the judge ruling of no place to proceed due to irrelevance of the fact when the further course of the proceedings compromises the educational needs of the minor. The same can be done ex officio judge;
• finally, the judge can decide to grant the minor the judicial pardon (art. 169 penal code) when, considering all the circumstances of the crime, it is presumed that the guilty party will refrain from committing further crimes.

Can a minor go to prison for a mural?

In light of what has been said so far, we can conclude by stating that a

underage it will hardly go in prison for a mural or for some graffiti drawn in the street, on a wall or a building: although the fact usually constitutes a crimethe juvenile trial involves numerous “loopholes” which, in the end, will prevent the minor from being condemned.

Even if the judge were to reach one conviction sentencethere would always be the “umbrella” of conditional suspension of sentencewhich prevents the minor from serving the sanction.

Graffiti and murals: what is the risk for children under 14?

Not to mention, then, the children under 14 years old who, not being attributable, cannot even be reported to the criminal authorities.

However, it remains unaffected civil responsibility of parentswho could be condemned to compensate for the damage caused by the creation of murals and graffiti by their children.