Police on the lookout for three prolific Kelowna taggers

Police are hoping the public can help them identify three prolific Kelowna taggers. 

Kelowna RCMP are asking for help to identify three suspects who have allegedly spray painted multiple public and private structures. 

The first suspect "AWKWRD," pictured above, has been linked to roughly 300 tags to various structures throughout the Kelowna area.

The second suspect "SOJA,' pictured above, has been active in the downtown core with more than 300 incidents over the summer.

Third suspect "SOCIAL," pictured above, has tagged numerous public and private properties throughout Kelowna.

"These types of crimes are often discounted by the public as 'nuisance issues,'" Kelowna RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy said in an RCMP media release. "But the reality is this isn’t a victimless crime. Vandalism such as this takes away from the beauty of our city, and it encourages other criminal behaviour. "

Every year taggers cost the community more than $400,000 to paint over or remove graffiti on public property and more than $350,000 on private property, according to a City of Kelowna release.

This year has been the busiest ever with staff cleaning more than 1,500 locations in August and September alone.

In partnership with Crime Stoppers, a $500 reward is offered for tips that lead to an arrest for graffiti vandalism. To report graffiti online, click here.

Anyone with any information about the three tagging suspects can contact the Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300 or remain completely anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. 

—This story was updated at 4:35 p.m. Oct. 8, 2020 to add information from the City of Kelowna.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Brie Welton or call (250) 819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.