![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/G-20_-_Hamburg_Schulterblatt_01.jpg/640px-G-20_-_Hamburg_Schulterblatt_01.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Vandalism
Deliberate damage or defacement of an object or structure / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Wikipedia policy on vandalism, see Wikipedia:Vandalism.
For other uses, see Vandalism (disambiguation).
Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.[1]
![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2020) |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/G-20_-_Hamburg_Schulterblatt_01.jpg/640px-G-20_-_Hamburg_Schulterblatt_01.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Progression_of_Vandalism_in_a_restroom.jpg/640px-Progression_of_Vandalism_in_a_restroom.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Lead_Photo_For_Swimming_pool_sanitation0-46353521407581866.jpg/640px-Lead_Photo_For_Swimming_pool_sanitation0-46353521407581866.jpg)
The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term finds its roots in an Enlightenment view that the Germanic Vandals were a uniquely destructive people as they sacked Rome in 455 AD.