102-year-old Victor Silva, Oakland, California man ordered to clean up graffiti on fence or pay thousands in fines as the city descends into unrelenting crime. Will the city cut him a brake? Will the city find a way to reign in the spiraling crime?
As soon as it’s painted over the graffiti re-appears according to Oakland, California family members who have taken exception to a city ordinance forcing a 102 year old wheelchair-bound home-owner repeatedly having to paint over his vandalized fence or face fines.
Victor Silva painted over the black and red graffiti on the back fence of the house he’s lived in for the past 80 years after the City of Oakland implemented a March 19 deadline, according to KTVU.
‘[I] Just had a roller and a paintbrush and just painted it,’ Silva told the outlet.
Absurdity of re-occurring ordinance targeting century old man
If Silva failed to comply with the order, he would face a $1,100 fine — including an additional $1,277 each time he failed a re-inspection.
Silva said he had painted over the recurring graffiti himself without issue for years, while acknowledging the feat has increasingly become difficult in his twilight years.
‘It was very easy because I was a contractor, you know. I’ll be 103 in two months or so. That slowed it up a little bit, you know,’ Silva explained.
Silva’s family criticized the city’s ‘absurd’ re-occurring actions issue.
‘It was so absurd, it’s like a joke. If you drive around the city and see the graffiti everywhere, it’s just I don’t know what to say,’ Silva’s daughter-in-law Elena Silva told KTVU.
As soon as it’s painted the vandals return
The burden now falls on his son, Victor Silva Jr., 70, who claims the graffiti keeps popping up no matter what they do to prevent the vandals.
‘It’s hard to keep up with it because as soon as we get it painted, It’s gonna be graffiti on it again, and it won’t last,’ said Silva Jr.
Silva’s family pointed out that a utility box only yards away from the fence was covered in graffiti, further infuriating them as to why their 102-year-old father was threatened with a fine.
‘I would hate to think that there [are] other hundred-year-old people that are being harassed like this,’ said Silva Jr.
Silva Jr. who manages his family’s nearby small commercial building, says he has had to contend with ongoing crime in the city. In the last year, the building has been broken into three times, including facing off with a vagrant inside.
Each time, Silva Jr. told the outlet, he’s called 911, but the issue is not subsiding.
‘I’m put on hold every time. So it’s hard to understand where our tax dollars are going. They can’t answer 911, but they can come out and hassle you about a fence?’
Oakland has to change- but can it?
Silva Jr. noted that ‘Oakland has to change’ and that the system in place is simply ‘not working’ if crimes are not being addressed — while his elderly father is facing hefty fines for something out of his control.
According to KTVU, the city inspector is aware of the issue and will immediately inspect the fence. The inspector also said he would consider canceling the citation that the city continues to issue on the 102-year-old Oakland man.
Crime has surged across multiple categories in 2023, including armed assaults and brazen property crimes.
Notes a recent report via the LA Times:
‘The first two months of 2024 have brought some relief. Crime rates have fallen in several categories, including homicide, aggravated assault, burglary and auto theft. But robberies continue to climb upward, and there is a shared sense in large swaths of Oakland that something has changed. The crimes feel more routine and more brazen. And the crime scenes have shifted into wealthier areas.’
Data from Oakland’s police force reveal that robberies increased by a massive 38% from 2022 to 2023.
Motor vehicle theft in particular saw a major rise, with the force reporting 44% more in 2023 compared with 2022 according to KTVU.
Addressing Oakland, California crime wave
There were 8,675 car theft cases in the city in 2022, compared with 12,956 last year. Burglaries also jumped 23% from the previous year.
The surge in robberies prompted police to issue a public safety advisory on March 13.
The advisory states that the Oakland Police Department is making ‘progress’ to reduce the rampant crime but still wants the public to remain vigilant.
Activists trace the crime wave to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Along with job losses, the enduring shift to remote work has emptied out downtown streets and led to a swath of business closures. The prolonged closure of schools created another problem, pushing teenagers out of classrooms and into the community, often without positive alternatives.
Debate centers around increasing police funding, while activists point to ongoing class and racial inequities in the district that have led to rising wealth inequity and ongoing discord.
