Vandalism

Vandalism is deliberate damage to someone else's or public property. The word "vandal" comes from the name of the Germanic tribe best known for their sacking of Rome in 455, which caused their name to be associated with senseless destruction. Examples of vandalism include scratching someone's car, damaging their house, arson and graffiti to name a few.

Typical reasons for people committing acts of vandalism include boredom, being dared to do it, revenge, seeking a "buzz" and being drunk. Another possible factor in someone's decision to vandalise something is that they don't expect to be caught or for there to be any repercussions.

A lot of vandalism I think is both spiteful and pointless (such as keying cars as you walk past them, damaging someone's house etc). It's also annoying as hell when it happens to you. At the more serious end of the spectrum, arson is, needless to say, dangerous and could end up badly injuring or even killing someone and interfering with important road signs could have equally severe outcomes.

However, some vandalism such as graffiti and billboard liberation (where a few words on a sign are altered so that the meaning is changed completely) qualify as culture jamming and are seen as artistic (see http://sniggle.net/vandalism.php). Banksy's street art (http://www.banksy.co.uk/index.html.co.uk/index.html), for instance, is considered by many to be creative pieces illustrating political and cultural satire, rather than vandalism. Personally, I actually like well-done graffiti and the more creative it is, the better.

Some information and statistics on vandalism: http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/criminaldamage/cd%20facts%20and%20figures.htm