Combating Graffiti
By Brandy Nance (Contact)
Originally published 09:18 a.m., May 31, 2008
Updated 09:18 a.m., May 31, 2008
When it comes to graffiti in Emporia, the Emporia Police Department is taking an active approach to reduce the amount that goes up and cleaning up what does.
With spring and more people outdoors, the amount of graffiti rises, Police Chief Gary Smith said. Smith recently asked officers to go around and inventory of Emporia’s graffiti.
“I asked officers to get a sense of what’s going on out there,” he said.
What officers found was some new graffiti and some old graffiti that had been around for several years.
“There was a lot more graffiti than I realized,” said Brendy Allison, community policing officer for the Emporia Police Department.
Regardless of how long the graffiti has been there, Smith wants to find a way to help people get rid of it and be consistent about staying on top of it. Smith is exploring funding options for helping people clean up graffiti.
The police department is working with Emporia’s Building Futures Initiative as well, Smith said.
“We want to be able to look at what we can do to help that,” he said.
Smith said graffiti negatively effects a neighborhood whether it’s tagging or other types of graffiti.
“It tends to take away a sense of neighborhood,” he said.
Although the police department is working hard to control graffiti, it needs the public’s help.
“We would ask that people would let us know so we can take a picture of it,” Smith said. “...It’s frustrating because I’ve had my property tagged. You take it off and they put it right back.”
The department is also turning its focus to community education. Presentations are being put together for schools and parent groups. The presentations should be ready by mid summer.
“It’s educating as far as having to do with what graffiti is and what it is about,” Smith said.
The educational program also will focus on warning signs for parents such as gang activity, guns and violence. But graffiti isn’t always gang related, Smith said.
“People putting initials on property is nothing new,” he said. “We do tell people to take it seriously as far as letting us know, but not to overreact.”
The department wants to work with neighborhood watch groups in the future and work toward taking graffiti down 24 to 48 hours after it goes up.
“Being consistent is the best way of deterring it,” Smith said.
Graffiti isn’t just criminal damage to property, it means less money can be put into other projects.
“If it’s on public property, the city has to take it down,” Smith said. “It means less money to improve the water park or the skateboard park...”
There are several other steps the city is working on including business education and encouraging businesses not to sell spray paint to people under the age of 18. Also there are treatments that can be used that cause the object to repel paint.
“When you build stuff you try not to give them a new canvas,” Smith said.
Although Emporia has its share of graffiti, Smith said it’s no worse here than other towns. But to improve Emporia’s image, he wants to get a handle on it.
Comments
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Posted by USNretired (anonymous) on May 31, 2008 at 12:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
When you catch them, make them publicly clean it up plus pay a hefty fine.
Posted by admireed (anonymous) on May 31, 2008 at 12:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
USN..I second that
Posted by jackslap (anonymous) on May 31, 2008 at 12:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree!
Posted by jayhawker (anonymous) on May 31, 2008 at 1:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think that our new police chief will work out fine. He seems to want to improve the community. Thanks, Chief.
Posted by Cactusflower (anonymous) on May 31, 2008 at 4:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with you - USN.
Posted by outdoorguy (anonymous) on May 31, 2008 at 6:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I guess if it gets to bad we could always doz it out and build a new one up north by the Aquatic Center!! I'm sorry, I was having a "Peter Pan Pool over ran by hoodlims moment". Last time I took my kids to the skate park,I walked acroos street to get a soda, during that time my boy (age 8 at the time) got his b#tt kicked and his board stolen by the "locals". We haven't been back, that was over a year ago. Awesome idea, but honestly ,what was wrong with building it at Jones park? Heck, even the park by walnut school would have been "centrally" located and safer for everyone. Next time pay attention before we sign the check.
Posted by create (anonymous) on June 1, 2008 at 8:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Nothing wrong at all with USN's idea, but how to catch them is the trick. Wouldn't you just love to?
Yes, the skate park should be more centrally located. Also, thanks for the memories, Outdoorguy. Everytime I drive by the old Peter Pan Pool, I can't help but think of all the happy times my kids spent there when they were young back in the 70's. 50 cents for a whole afternoon. I can understand your satire too.
Posted by rox_alan (anonymous) on June 2, 2008 at 4:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well unfortunely no matter what we do for the kids of this community someone has to put some type of graffiti on something to ruin it for everyone. Took my grandkids to the new addition at Peter Pan Park and already there was some nasty writing on the area where the train is.... So sad that something as wonderful as that new addition is someone has to ruin it by degrading it with there graffiti. So if they can be caught at writing these things on property then they should be the ones to clean it up plus pay a fine. Hopefully that will teach them to respect property and not degrade it with the filth.
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