Vandal Squad: Inside the New York City Transit Police Department, 1984-2004

by Joseph Rivera

Vandal Inside the New York City Transit Police Department, 1984-2004  has caused consternation throughout the global graffiti community with charges that author Joseph Rivera is profiting off the very criminals he spent his career incarcerating. 

Graffiti writers have left a vivid trail and told their spellbinding tales the world over in countless books and magazines, films and videos, websites and events. They have shared stories of war and glory, of battles and triumphs, and have the pictures to prove it. But many have gone down for those ups; they've been caught in action or hunted as criminals, and brought forth to answer for crimes of vandalism. They've copped pleas or pleaded guilty outright; they've been sentenced to do community service, to pay fines, and sometimes even to serve jail time yet more often than not they got right back in action. No one knew this better than the New York City Transit Police Vandal Squad. 

Founded in 1980, the Vandal Squad's mission was to protect the subway system from hardcore criminal acts of destruction like kicking out windows and throwing seats out of train cars. It was only with the Clean Car Program of 1984 that graffiti became the primary focus of this specialized Unit. On a mission to catch those who gained fame under tag names, the Vandal Squad had to identify and locate these individuals cloaked in anonymity (and often so transient they were referred as "ghosts") using every means available, including the NYPD computer database, Search Warrants, subpoenas, and even vandals themselves. 

In  Vandal Inside the New York City Transit Police Department, 1984-2004 , former member Officer Joseph Rivera recounts the days and nights spent in pursuit of some of New York City's most notorious vandals. The only book on graffiti told from the perspective of law enforcement, Vandal Squad takes us inside the New York Police Department. Rivera's fast-paced tales of cat and mouse are presented alongside professional disregard within the Department. Featuring never-before-seen photographs and stories of graffiti's infamous Top 40, Vandal Squad offers an unprecedented look at the graffiti world from the other side of the game.

168 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2008

Reviews

[David Quinlan · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.7 stars

I was hoping for a detailed insight into being in the NYC Vandal Squad in the 70s/80s/90s graffiti filled trains and streets and that it would shine a new light on the era, but unfortunately I didn't really get that.

Joseph Rivera seems VERY sure of himself and his apparently key role in graffiti history. The way he talks about his time in the Vandal
Squad sounds like was a lawman in the wild west, keeping the streets clean of Jesse James or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. but in reality, he openly admits to using the system to effectively bully and harass kids and young adults that were doing graffiti.

I appreciate that New York was a dangerous, dangerous place at that time, but him talking about waiting for hours for kids to walk out of graffiti shops before arresting them and putting them through hours of booking for putting a sticker on something just comes off as a little bit sad and like he took his job WAY too seriously.

Putting his joking about horrific crimes and beating up kids aside, Rivera comes off as a little bitter for never progressing in his career past the Vandal Squad and never being made detective, despite multiple others coming and going and progressing from the squad within three to four years, meanwhile the names of some of the people that he spent just over 20 years chasing around the New York city streets, like Seen or Cope 2, have solidified their place in history as some of the most well-known and respected street artists that, as Rivera likes to point out, have also made a lot of money from there endeavors.

As I've seen others say, I'm sure the stories of the kids that he makes allusions to both being friends with, and beingmoral enemies, would have been a lot more interesting.

[Rowan · Rating 2 out of 5]

i very much wanted to be interested in this book for its angle on graffiti history but joe rivera ultimately has the writing style of an elementary schooler and is just about as self-analytical. unpleasant read with some cool pictures in it - not surprising that a cop might not have the best perspective on an art form like graffiti

[Thomass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can you respect the devil? This book flirts with the devil and its tales, although, depending on who you are dictates who the devil really is. The world reality is not so black and white though. It's complex. And so are my feelings on a book by Vandal Squad cop Numero Uno.
It's actually a great read and a quick read at that.
It's got some good war stories and breaks down some incidents with crews/writers. Included are some nice photos from along the way. Rivera definitely has some respect for writers and seems as though a few returned the favor, yet respect can only go so far cuz he was still out there locking writers up. Charge it to the game, haha.

[Frank Mitchell · Rating 1 out of 5]

While an interesting read, Joseph Rivera was a cop who took his job a little too serious and crossed the lines with many of the writers he arrested. The to glorify that in a book was a little tasteless, as if he was jealous that the kids doing the art on the trains were taking away from his work arresting them. What we have is a ego fueled read by a cop which is nowhere as interesting as the kids who committed the crimes.

[Brokenshoelace · Rating 4 out of 5]

New York, subways, cops, and graffiti! What more in life can one ask for?