Graffiti Hurts^® eNews
December 2010

HEADLINE NEWS

Quick Response Keeps Graffiti at Bay in Downtown Austin, Texas

Six years ago the Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA) took in-house its graffiti removal services. Since then, the DAA maintenance crew removes 98 percent of tags, stickers, handbills, and other graffiti vandalism in fewer than 24 hours after being observed by maintenance staff or reported by the public.

“Persistence over time really pays off and reduces the frequency of graffiti,” says Bill Brice, Program Director, Security and Maintenance, Downtown Austin Alliance. (Click to see graph.)  

“About 90 percent of graffiti tags on things like benches, light poles, and electrical panels are magic marker so of those 80 percent can be removed in about five minutes with spray solvent and a rag,” says Brice. For graffiti covering larger areas or on stone, brick, or concrete, the maintenance supervisor will use a pressure washer or paint as needed. When DAA contracted out these services, “we couldn’t direct resources where and when we needed them,” says Brice. “Now, we have reduced expenses and get far better results.”

>>Read more

Guest Editorial

Addressing Graffiti Vandalism as a Tagging or a Gang Issue

By Sgt. Dwight Waldo, San Bernardino, Calif. Police Department and a member of the Graffiti Hurts^® Advisory Panel

When a community is dealing with a serious graffiti vandalism problem, city officials, such as the Mayor or City Council, typically identify it as a crime issue and refer it to local law enforcement. They may automatically interpret a graffiti problem as a gang issue and deal with it as such. This misconception is a primary reason some anti-graffiti programs fail. To effectively attack a graffiti problem, it must be properly identified and a plan put into action based on that identification.

While some communities have high gang-related graffiti, in most communities the majority of highly visible graffiti vandalism can be attributed to the tagger culture. Because of this lack of understanding, law enforcement may create a plan of attack to deal with graffiti which focuses on targeting criminal street gangs. This focus may be successful but the end result will often be almost no reduction in visible graffiti throughout the community. There is little overlap between gang members and graffiti taggers. Targeting gang members to impact tagger vandalism will have limited impact.

>>Read more

Graffiti Vandalism Mars Red Rock National Conservation Area

On December 2, officials from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management received a report of extensive graffiti vandalism to the Red Rock National Conservation Area 17 miles west of Las Vegas. The graffiti defaced federally-protected Native American rock etchings which were are estimated to be more than 1,000 years old. The initial damage assessment exceeds $10,000 and the Native American etchings were described as "permanently damaged."

Detectives from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Gang Unit's Graffiti Section teamed with federal agents and a task force was formed. The mission of this task force was to identify, locate, and arrest the vandal responsible for the damage. An intensive investigation ensued and a suspect was identified on December 8. Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for the vandal citing the charge of Felony Placing Graffiti with Gang Enhancement.

Attempts to locate and arrest the vandal, a 17-year-old Las Vegas gang member, were initially unsuccessful because the individual went into hiding. The U.S. Marshals Service was contacted and a location within Las Vegas was placed under surveillance. As a result, the suspect was located and taken into custody. He was booked into Clark County Juvenile Hall for the charge of Felony Placing Graffiti with Gang Enhancement.

>>For more information, contact Det. Scott Black, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept. and Director, Southern Nevada Graffiti Coalition

COMMUNITY FOCUS

Caltrans Installs New Retaining Walls to Deter Graffiti and Improve Community Appearance

Efforts to improve aesthetics and tie freeways to the cities they travel through have led Caltrans, California’s department of transportation, and local officials to brand retaining walls in Riverside and San Bernardino, Calif. counties with local art. And in the process, help them to stay graffiti free.

Unlike flat panels, local designs (see photo at left) deter graffiti. Blank retaining walls are much more susceptible to tagging. Caltrans maintains and approves all designs on state highways, including interstates, but styles were selected based on input from local officials. Concrete is poured into a mold to make the wall designs, which cost about $5 to $8 per square foot, and molds can be reused.

Officials credit the changes with a decline in tagging as well as resident’s improved sense of community pride because the appearance of the walls. This makes residents also more likely to notify officials when they do spot graffiti vandalism.

>>Read more and see photos. And, read about Tennessee Department of Transportation’s struggles to graffiti-proof sound barrier walls. If your community has had success graffiti-proofing retaining and barrier walls, please share.

Despite Rain, San Antonio’s Graffiti Wipeout Meets Goal of 10,000th Volunteer!

San Antonio's City Council declared the month of September 2010 Graffiti Wipeout month. Each weekend volunteers were scheduled to cover up graffiti at locations throughout the city. In the past seven years, 9,792 volunteers have painted over graffiti and picked up litter. And despite the rain every weekend, the City of San Antonio met its goal of the 10,000th volunteer. The City of San Antonio's Housing and Neighborhood Services Department partnered with the Parks and Recreation Department to offer tree planting in addition to Graffiti Wipeout. During the month of September, 317 trees were planted, and 61,500 square feet of graffiti were wiped out using 614 volunteers from City Departments and outside agencies.

>>Find out more

GRAFFITI PREVENTION LAWS

Las Vegas Tightens Anti-Graffiti Ordinance

The Clark County Commission, which includes Las Vegas, voted unanimously on October 5 on an ordinance that forbids minors from possessing spray paint and large graffiti markers in public. The approved change removed the age requirement for enforcement of the statute and allows law enforcement officers to arrest any person, regardless of age who publicly possesses graffiti implements when the officer establishes that the person has the intent to place illegal graffiti vandalism. Violators can face probation, fines, community service, and jail time.

>>More

U.S. Army Corp Shows Zero Tolerance for Graffiti Vandalism on L.A. River

In July, the Los Angeles River gained new federal protection under the Clean Water Act with a designation of being a navigable waterway. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District is now working with the Compton School Police Department Graffiti Task Force to crack down on tagging on concrete walls in the Compton Creek watershed channel.

Compton Creek is about a 42-square mile sub-watershed located within the Los Angeles River. The corps has the responsibility of operations of the Compton Creek watershed channel to reduce the risks of flooding. In partnership with the Compton School Police Department Graffiti Task Force, they are taking a taking a no-nonsense to maintenance of the watershed channel, and spray-painted graphic images and messages on the concrete walls will not be tolerated. To help stop graffiti activity, the corps has also implemented a $38 per-square-foot removal charge, boosting the restitution fee charged to violators.

>>More

Boston Judges Crack Down on Taggers

According to a recent Boston Herald article, many judges are putting their support behind law enforcement who are battling graffiti taggers. In a review of recent criminal sentences handed down for vandalism, most are getting six months in jail and ordered to pay restitution ranging from $1,000 to $10,000. This news was reported after a front-page story about the increase in tagging of subway cars and other transit property.

>>Read more

YOUTH IN THE NEWS

University of Nebraska Students Organize Annual Graffiti Cleanup

Nearly two dozen University of Nebraska-Omaha students volunteered to clean up graffiti at the 4th annual Graffiti Abatement, sponsored by the Association of Latino American Students. For Crystal Rhoades, assistant director of the Neighborhood Center, which helped organize the event, the goal was to eliminate the negative image associated with graffiti vandalism. For Gabriel Gutierrez, 19, ALAS president, removing graffiti was an opportunity to make the community look better.

>>More

City of San Antonio Youth Take Art to the 'Hood'

San Antonio “Art in Action Program” was a free eight-week summer arts program in collaboration with Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU). The 20 participants, between the ages of 14 and 21, met three times a week at OLLU to learn about screen printing and mural making. Students also visited galleries and various mural sites across the City. The Program culminated with the creation of six murals at the Elmendorf Dam site as well as screen prints of each mural that were auctioned at the mural unveiling.

While this program was open to all youth, four participants were court-mandated (at the City's request -- as they were arrested for graffiti vandalism at Elmendorf dam). One of those court-mandated participants is now working with OLLU on a scholarship for his entry into college. The result: murals on the Elmendorf Dam, a chronically-tagged structure, has benefited the neighborhood and program participants. And to date, areas with the mural have not been tagged with graffiti vandalism.