NCJ Number
206815
Journal
Crime Mapping News Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2004 Pages: 2-3
Date Published
2004
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This article describes how to analyze and combat incidents of graffiti in Santa Monica, CA.
Abstract
The community-oriented policing initiative established graffiti abatement as a priority; initial responsibility for responding to graffiti complaints was shifted to the city’s Facilities Management Department and a graffiti hotline was established in 2000. During 2003, 5,222 incidents of graffiti were abated in Santa Monica, up from 2,157 incidents cleaned by the city in 2002. The Citywide Graffiti Abatement Visualization System (CGrAS) was developed to capture and analyze the graffiti incidents and the nature and sources of the tagging. The system is based on ESRI ArcObjects platform and is scalable. Other technical features of the system are described. CGrAS utilizes digital cameras and accompanying software to capture graffiti information, map it using GIS basemap technology, and analyze it in terms of gang monikers. Information may be derived about sources of graffiti, perpetrator locations, and the nature of graffiti. The CGrAS provides a comprehensive approach to graffiti abatement that has been well-received as a valuable resource in the quest to rid the city of graffiti. The next phase of the project involves a wireless data-send approach. Figures