City bylaw officer puts pressure on graffiti taggers
To Phil Williams, graffiti tags might as well be photo ID.
Under the Six Mile bridge, he sees evidence of one tagger who is under investigation, and a spray-painted mark of another young man well known to Victoria police. A third larger piece has the signature of a graffiti artist who Williams knows moved to Saskatchewan.
B次元官网网址淚 see familiar tags all the time,B次元官网网址� said Williams, a Colwood bylaw officer. B次元官网网址淭his place is out of my jurisdiction, but itB次元官网网址檚 great to gather intelligence.B次元官网网址�
While technically in View Royal, Williams photographs new graffiti under the bridge for his growing database of tags, built up over the last four months. HeB次元官网网址檚 a man on a mission to quash graffiti and tagging in Colwood.
Colwood launched a concerted anti-graffiti program in October in the wake of extensive tagging on signs and buildings throughout the community last year. The City hired Williams, an anti-graffiti guru and former Langford bylaw officer who helped that city build unprecedented civil lawsuits against two graffiti vandals.
In Colwood to date, Williams has identified seven taggers, three of whom have painted over 56 tags as part of community service. All are young men, either in their teens or early 20s.
He has photographed and cataloged 376 tags, the majority of which are now painted over. Two taggers are paying $571 to public works for cleanup costs, and bylaw officers have issued 12 municipal tickets for vandalism. Parents of one tagger even surrendered 68 cans of spray paint.
B次元官网网址淭he program is working and weB次元官网网址檝e made huge strides,B次元官网网址� said Colwood bylaw enforcement manager Kevin Atkinson. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e picked the right person to do the job, and the city is looking better for it.B次元官网网址�
Colwood pays Williams' part-time salary, but the majority of the anti-graffiti program is funded through donations from local businesses. Rona gave $460 worth of paint for a community B次元官网网址減aint outB次元官网网址� in November, and Thriftys, London Drugs and Best Buy have also donated to the cause. The City is working with BC Hydro and Canada Post on graffiti removal funding agreements.
B次元官网网址淐orporate citizens have stepped up in a huge way with no questions asked. They ask, B次元官网网址榟ow can we help?B次元官网网址�,B次元官网网址� Atkinson said. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e getting value for their money.B次元官网网址�
On the ground, Williams often works B次元官网网址渦ndercoverB次元官网网址� in plain clothes, monitoring common tagging areas, and passing on locations of new tags to City staff. Colwood public works has standing orders to paint over new tags within 24 hours.
B次元官网网址淭aggers want to be noticed. If they tag the same spot you have to clean it right away. Persistence pays off,B次元官网网址� Williams said.
B次元官网网址淪everal of the most prolific taggers have been caught, but a new generation is coming up so its important to keep up the momentum.B次元官网网址�
The officers think the rate of tagging in the city is falling, but they wonB次元官网网址檛 really know until after the winter. They doubt the city will ever be 100 per cent free of graffiti tags. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not about graffiti elimination," Williams said. "itB次元官网网址檚 about managing it, keeping it to a minimum."
Some communities have a B次元官网网址渇reewallB次元官网网址� for graffiti artists to paint, but those projects, while admirable, usually promote B次元官网网址渂leed outB次元官网网址� into surrounding neighbourhoods, the officers say. The skate park in Langford is a prime example.
B次元官网网址淭here is huge bleed out into (Langford),B次元官网网址� Williams said. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 many tags on (Belmont) school grounds and local businesses.B次元官网网址�
Colwood bylaw officers network with anti-graffiti officers in other municipalities, such as Langford and Victoria, in an effort not to just push the problem into another community. One partnership with West Shore RCMP community policing section could play a key role in future anti-graffiti efforts.
Community policing staff have agreed to input Colwood municipal ticket convictions linked to graffiti into the PRIME database, the primary offender database for police in B.C.
That effort B次元官网网址渋s in its infancy,B次元官网网址� Williams said, but as it grows, police and courts across the region will be able to see municipal tickets issued to taggers, not just the rarer criminal convictions. B次元官网网址淚f someone gets a ticket for graffiti, now the police are notified,B次元官网网址� Williams said. On ColwoodB次元官网网址檚 end, it is bumping up vandalism fines to $500 from $100.
The $20,000 anti-graffiti program is considered a six-month pilot project and Colwood council will need to decide in April if it will be funded again. Last year, the first six months of cleaning up tags cost the City about $10,000.
Williams and Atkinson told the protective services committee that businesses are willing to donate paint and equipment, but without certainty of continuing, itB次元官网网址檚 difficult to get commitments.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 in a bit of a catch-22,B次元官网网址� Williams said. B次元官网网址淎 lot of donations have come in, and a lot of sponsors are interested, but itB次元官网网址檚 hard for them to commit if they donB次元官网网址檛 know if the program will continue or not.B次元官网网址�
The driving force behind the anti-graffiti effort is to make the city look clean, polished, and unthreatening. Atkinson said its hard to directly measure the benefits of graffiti abatement, but he argues council and the community are getting their moneyB次元官网网址檚 worth.
B次元官网网址淭here is a lot of intangible things behind this. Graffiti can give the perception an area is not safe, it deters business,B次元官网网址� Atkinson said. B次元官网网址淭he West Shore is a place we want people to live and work, and tagging is a deterrent.B次元官网网址�
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
