EVERETT — Graffiti violators in Everett will face more stringent punishments after the City Council approved new civil penalties for graffiti tagging during a council meeting Wednesday.

People who tag buildings with graffiti in Everett already face potential criminal charges — that hasn’t changed. The new ordinance adds a civil penalty to graffiti violations on top of the city’s existing criminal code. That change will allow Everett police to issue fines against graffiti taggers when law enforcement doesn’t have enough evidence to meet the burden of proof necessary for a criminal case, Everett Police Department Captain Tim Morgan previously said.

Civil offenses require only a “preponderance of the evidence” to issue an infraction , whereas criminal cases require the state to prove

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