NCJ Number
225232
Date Published
2001
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Results are presented from an analysis by a team of San Diego police officers and detectives quantifying the extent of the graffiti problem for the Mid-City Division and the response by the police department in attacking the graffiti problem.
Abstract
After 2 days of examining 2 square miles of the Mid-City Division, the findings were astounding: more than 300 instances of pronounced graffiti and nearly 100 instances of graffiti covered over with paint that did not match the original wall color. The team realized that the community’s concern was well founded. Based on the results of the analysis, officers decided that the best problem-solving approach would be to target both active and potential taggers. Youth-oriented resources would have to be the primary partners in this effort. Officers settled on sex responses to Mid-City’s graffiti problem: counseling, paint-outs, adopt-a-block, handler program, murals, and joint patrol. As a result of the new partnerships, graffiti has decreased in Mid-City Division putting San Diego closer to its goal of removing graffiti from its communities. The San Diego Police Department’s Mid-City Division serves a densely populated and ethnically diverse community, comprised of mixed residential and commercial zones. In 1999, the police were informed by residents of Mid-City that graffiti was an important quality-of-life concern for the community. In this chapter results are presented from an analysis on the extent of the graffiti problem in Mid-City with the intent to use the knowledge gained along with community policing tactics to significantly reduce graffiti in the area. References