What to do about Graffiti 4/26/2010
Fast Facts about Graffiti
- Graffiti is the most common type of property vandalism (35%) according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
- Immediate removal - within 24-48 hours - is the key to successful graffiti prevention.
- About 80% of graffiti is hip hop or "tagger" graffiti. Another 5% are "pieces". Nationally, gang graffiti makes up about 10% of graffiti.
- Most studies show the majority of "taggers" are males between 12 and 21 years old. Approximately 15% of graffiti vandals are young females.
- Arrest data from 17 major cities shows that 50% to 70% of all street-level graffiti is created by suburban adolescents, predominately males between the ages of 12 and 19.
- Community paint-brush murals are rarely defaced by graffiti and instill a sense of pride among those who live nearby.
What do I do about Graffiti?
- Idaho Police encouranges residents and business owners to follow the 3 Rs where it comes to graffiti:
- Report Report graffiti to the non-emergency police dispatch line.
- Record Photograph the graffiti. Keep a visual record.
- Remove Remove the graffiti as quickly as possible to deter other taggers from vandalizing the same space.
- Be aware, private property owners are responsible for removing graffiti from their home or business.
- Property owners or neighborhoods challenged by graffiti or its recurrence can call their local police department for assistance and advice about what to do.
- Where can I get more information? Your local Police Department is the best contact to get information about graffiti or to report graffiti.
- By phone, you can call the 2-1-1 Idaho CareLine by dialing 2-1-1 or 1-800-926-2588 to get the contact information of your local Police Department.
- You can search for your local Police Department contact information in the 2-1-1 Idaho CareLine online database.
- Online, you can also get information at: http://graffitihurts.org/