Friday, September 8, 2017

GRAFFITI: How It Hurts & How You Can Help!

                          
Graffiti is any writing, drawing or symbol applied to any surface without the consent of the property owner or their agent. It's a problem that if left unchecked can seriously damage the reputation of a community and adversely effect the economy and quality of life enjoyed by the residents. 

Removal of graffiti is a fact of life for commercial property owners in cities large and small. Many find their buildings spray painted and spend between hundreds and thousands of dollars to have the graffiti removed – using methods ranging from power-washing to repainting – only to be tagged again days later.

 
In major cities owners are required by law to remove illegal markings. Failure to do so often results in fines or action to remove the graffiti by city workers; the cost is then typically billed back to building owners in the form of property tax surcharges. These requirements leave many commercial property owners feeling doubly victimize.

Common Targets

Graffiti Crime can occur anywhere the opportunity exists. Some of the more popular targets include: 

  
Public and private buildings
Parks and recreation facilities
Public transit vehicles, stations and shelters
Public telephone booths
Railway cars
Bridges and overpasses 


Why should you care?

Graffiti crime can effect your community in many ways, including:


Higher taxes for clean-up
Lower property values
Heightened fear of crime 
Cancellation or reduction of education and recreation program

Removal is Important

Graffiti that is not removed indicates that no one cares about the state of the community. A clear message must be sent to those responsible that this type of activity will not be tolerated. The most effective method of deterring Graffiti Crime is removal within 24 hours. 



Immediate Removal

Timely graffiti removal will help stop the spread and re-occurrence of graffiti. Graffiti writers will not waste their time or materials and are unlikely to return to locations that do not offer a good return for their efforts. 



The challenge isn't lost on city officials who attempt to balance the need for quick removal of graffiti with an understanding of the huge repeated costs for building owners. It's why the approach to managing vandalism across the country is changing. Many say it's having a positive impact on both incident reduction and community building efforts.

Cities are starting to introduce comprehensive graffiti management plans, which combine graffiti removal a central tactic in the plan because vandals are far less likely to hit a wall multiple times if they know their work will be promptly deleted with prevention, largely through youth and community outreach programs.

How You Can Help

Community clean up days have become a popular way for people to get together and help clean up the graffiti in their area. Teaming up with your friends and neighbors, a few local businesses, and if possible a company that sells safe removal options like EZ Strip you can clean up a whole community in a few hours for a few dollars! 

Here's how we did it!


 

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