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February 2, 2001/Shevet 8, 5761, Vol. 53, No.18
Prescott graffiti case stirs mixed reaction
BARRY COHEN
Community Editor
Safe Schools, Safe Students, a Prescott youth agency, has been tagged - vandalized with graffiti - four times since late October. As the investigation continues, law enforcement officials and leaders disagree about the identity of the perpetrator. No arrests have been made.
"I am kind of skeptical of the whole thing, even (whether it's) a hate crime," said Detective Jerry Yslas of the Prescott Police Department. "It might have been an ex-employee."
Graffiti has included the words "Hitler rules," "pigs," "kikes" and "last warning," as well as representations of six-pointed stars and backwards swastikas. Yslas said white supremacist groups would typically desecrate star images and do not use backwards swastikas.
"They don't seem to have known what they were doing or what they were writing," he said.
According to "Hate on Display," a pamphlet published by the Anti-Defamation League, a reverse swastika is "associated with the Nazis and is most often used to demonstrate feelings of anti-Semitism."
Prescott Police Detective Larry Martinez said there have been no threats to employees of the agency. Though hateful e-mails were received, the employees do not recall the exact content.
Rod Beaumont, founder of Safe Schools, Safe Students, disagrees with the police findings. "I don't think it has anything to do with an ex-employee," he said.
He believes the vandalism - other incidents were Nov. 9, Jan. 3 and Jan. 5 - should be called a hate crime.
He said he has spoken with FBI officials. Several phone calls to the FBI Phoenix office were not returned.
Safe Schools, Safe Students works with youth, conducting violence mediation, peer mentoring and diversity training. It also maintains an "anti-bullying hotline" that according to its Web site, www.stnews.org, has received 250,000 phone calls, e-mails and letters since it was set up in early September.
The hotline is intended for North American students who have been beaten or harassed for religion, race, sexual orientation or "high academic performance." Calls also have been received from concerned parents or grandparents.
He said the typical caller reports attacks extending over three to six months. "They are at their wit's end," said Beaumont. "They're tired of working with schools or local police departments (for a solution)."
Safe Schools, Safe Students is a nonprofit 501(c)3, with a $125,000 operating budget. Beaumont said it is funded by contributions from individuals, local businesses and corporations.
Rabbi William Berkowitz of Temple B'rith Shalom in Prescott has met with Beaumont and some of the student volunteers to express community support but does not agree the vandalism is a hate crime.
"I am beginning to wonder if the unfortunate events are of a private nature," he said. "As the only Jewish organization in the area, we have never had an incident or threat of an incident."
The Arizona chapter of the Jewish Defense League has donated and installed a camera system to cover the agency's building and parking lot, he said, and plans to set up a nighttime patrol unit.
Prescott police are continuing the investigation, Yslas said. The Safe Schools, Safe Students building is under surveillance by a video-equipped van, and officers on the street are aware of what is going on.
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