- VANDALISM
- a CRIME
- a NUISANCE
- a BLIGHT which decreases property value
Graffiti is not
- ART
- HARMLESS
- VICTIMLESS
Graffiti is words, colors, and shapes drawn or scratched on buildings, overpasses, train cars, desks, and other surfaces. It's done without permission and it's against the law.
Graffiti sends the signal that nobody cares about a neighborhood, and then attracts other forms of crime and blight to that area.
Graffiti decreases a resident's feeling of safety. Neighborhoods with graffiti see a decrease in property values, loss of business growth and tourism, and reduced ridership on transit systems.
Graffiti drains tax dollars. Funds that could be used for schools, roads, parks, and other community improvements, are instead used for graffiti clean-up. The same is true in the private sector. In Portland alone, tens of thousands of dollars are spent by private property owners who try to keep their buildings free from graffiti.
Cost of Graffiti:
• According to the National Association of Realtors, property located within a community where there is graffiti will lose 15 percent of its value.
• If the graffiti is profane or hateful, the property owner can expect to lose up to 25 percent of the home's value.
• An estimated $12 billion a year is spent cleaning up graffiti in the United States.
• Lost business due to blighted appearance incalculable.
Rapid Removal is the key to graffiti eradication! Studies show that the ideal response time is 24 to 48 hours. Consistent removal within this timeframe shows vandals that their “tags” will not receive much attention in that area!
- Clean up right away – but take pictures first!
- Be persistent (you may have to clean it numerous times before the vandals realize it’s not worth their effort).
- Report suspicious behavior to the police.
- Install motion detector lights and/or cameras in graffiti-prone areas.
- Install fences and plant thorny or thick bushes in front of large walls.
- Make it harder for vandals to get access to roofs of businesses by covering downspouts and moving commercial trash bins away from walls.
- When painting your property, consider darker colors that are less attractive to graffiti vandals.
- Increase lighting around your property.
- Consider applying a protective coating which provides a barrier between your property’s surface and the graffiti. Polyurethane –based coatings are resistant to graffiti and easier to clean; wax or silicon applications (“sacrificial coatings”) break down and allow graffiti to be easily washed off.
- Use clinging plants, such as ivy, on vulnerable walls. This breaks up the writing space and makes it harder for the paint to reach the wall.
- Plant dense or thorny bushes in front of graffiti-prone walls.
What makes a wall attractive to graffiti vandals?
| Attractive | Not So Attractive |
| Smooth Light-colored Regular paint Patched and dirty |
Rough Dark-colored Anti-graffiti paint Clean and freshly painted |