When I woke up on Sunday morning, I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was not at all expecting to see what I saw. My mailbox was dented inwards and bent at a weird angle, while egg yolk covered my front window, my dad’s car, and my garage.  What would possess someone to do something like that? Egging could have been just a prank by a friend who thought it was funny, but when you take a bat to my mailbox that’s a whole new level.

A prank turns into a malicious act of vandalism when someone physically breaks someone else’s property. This could have been a random act or a targeted act, but it doesn’t matter because it’s wrong and a crime. It may only be classified as a misdemeanor, but the offender can still face a year in jail, pay fines, or participate in community service. Penalties for juveniles consist of restitution, fines, probation, or detention.

If this was a targeted act, not only are the offenders affecting that “targeted” person, but also everyone who lives in the house.  No one deserves to be a victim of vandalism, especially if the victim has never said or done anything hurtful to the offender. People work hard to earn their money and for someone to come along and damage their property; that’s inexcusable.

People who commit vandalism never stop and ask themselves; how would I feel if someone destroyed my property? If they did, then they probably would not have committed vandalism in the first place. Offenders may think vandalism is an easy crime to commit, but they forget that there are such things as security tapes, credit cards, license plates, witnesses, and let’s not forget all the things that could accidently be left behind from the offenders. In addition to that possible evidence, if you don’t leave the crime scene fast enough, someone will probably see the type of car you drive.

Vandalism is a crime; it’s everything from egging someone’s house to breaking someone’s windows. The vandals may be laughing now, but when the police show up at their door they won’t be laughing anymore.