New York was the motherland to graffiti but during the Golden Years it became a worldwide phenomenon. Currently the ten best cities in the world that are covered in this form of art work range from Bogota, Colombia as number one to Mexico City as number six and back to the motherland: New York as number two (Fowler , 2014). Lets not forget London and Melbourne, Australia coming in as solid third and fourth (Fowler , 2014). As you can see graffiti has covered the walls of lively cities that has given them this urban and artsy feel. Graffiti has also attracted people to these cities, it has become so popular that there are now graffiti tours that go around and show tourist the most intriquite and captivating pieces that are around the city. Even though graffiti is highly appreciated by some it is still illegal, even in the cities that are considered graffiti capitals. There have been major graffiti arrest to dismantle and destroy crews; markers, aerosol cans, and pictures have been confiscated from these graffiti artist in these arrests.
Graffiti arrests have happened in all different cities around the world and along with the arrest have come the unfair sentences. In the United States we can see how Sebastion Perez an 18 year-old from Corpus-Christi was arrested and was sentenced for 8 years (Cavazos, 2009), he will have to serve his sentences back to back meaning that once he is out of prison he will be 26 years old. In Scotland Gary Shield a 21 year-old was sentenced to 28 months which is the longest sentence ever handed out in Scotland for a graffiti crime (Bynorth , 2009). The sentence that Shields received is said to be proof according to Bynorth of “Scotland's inconsistent sentencing system with similar tariffs given to cannabis dealers, knife assailants and serious motoring offenders”. Similar to these two cases in London Kristian Smith, a 32 year-old graffiti artist, is sentenced to three and a half years in jail. This father of two will be missing three and a half years from his kid’s lives due to unfair sentencing that came along with graffiti. Graffiti is not a crime that should incarcerate artist for such long periods of time and make them miss out on important milestones in their young lives.
Global issues are difficult to address because in different countries there are different justice systems that have different views on graffiti. There are some countries that do embrace the act of graffiti and encourage it as a way to enhance the city’s urban feel. The reason why Bogota is number one in graffiti sigh seeing is because of “the fact that in many areas of the city it’s legal” (Fowler , 2014). As you can see not all cities embrace graffiti like Bogota does therefore the sentences become harsher and longer because of the justice systems and their view on graffiti.