Vandalism in the City: Consequences and Actions
Employees of municipal enterprises are actively engaged in addressing the consequences of vandalism in the city. Unknown individuals are damaging public property, including park furniture, defacing underground passages, and destroying green spaces.
Earlier this week, white paint was spilled on the paths of the City Garden. Workers from the ‘City Green Trust’ along with their colleagues from the ‘Service Center’ worked diligently to clean the tiled surfaces. Previously, there was a report of the theft of 15 rose bushes from a flowerbed near the ‘Red Cross’ bus stop.
Recently, specialists from the ‘Odessa Electrical Installation and Maintenance Company’ removed the effects of vandalism in pedestrian areas where graffiti and damaged lighting have become a recurring issue.
This October, electricians from ‘Odessa City Light’ documented an act of vandalism on the Health Trail. Unknown individuals damaged equipment on ten poles, stole automatic switches and box covers, and ripped out cables. The company’s experts restored the damaged equipment.
Furthermore, staff from the ‘City Roads’ department regularly have to wash off graffiti from public transport stops and install new glass walls. Almost every day, vandals leave graffiti, break benches, and uproot trash cans along with concrete, damaging the glass walls of stop complexes. Stops are also frequently damaged due to traffic accidents.
The Odessa City Council urges residents and visitors to take care of municipal property. Intentional damage and destruction of city property can result in criminal liability.
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Liability for Damage to Municipal Property
Criminal Code of Ukraine
Article 194. Intentional destruction or damage to property
1. Intentional destruction or damage to another’s property causing significant harm is punishable by a fine of up to fifty (850 UAH) non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens, or community service from one hundred twenty to two hundred forty hours, or corrective labor for up to two years, or restriction of liberty for up to three years, or imprisonment for the same term.
Article 296. Hooliganism
1. Hooliganism, which is a gross violation of public order motivated by clear disrespect for society, accompanied by particular audacity or exceptional cynicism, is punishable by a fine from five hundred (8500 UAH) to one thousand (17000 UAH) non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens, or arrest for up to six months, or restriction of liberty for up to five years.
2. The same actions committed by a group of people are punishable by restriction of liberty for up to five years or imprisonment for up to four years.
