Graffiti is a crime that Renton officials have long been painting over. The city’s new Graffiti Control Ordinance gives those officials a broader brush to better eliminate the unsightly crime.
That new ordinance, which went into effect Jan. 6 and was passed by Renton City Council Dec. 1, provides several measures which better equip city officials to remove graffiti, prosecute graffiti artists and reduce the damages inflicted on property owners.
The ordinance is part of the city’s comprehensive graffiti removal plan, called the “Wipe Out Graffiti” Initiative.
In addition to the ordinance, this initiative includes the creation and distribution of free graffiti removal kits; partnerships with local businesses and organizations; cameras to help identify and prosecute vandals; a volunteer program to remove graffiti; and an anti-graffiti education campaign.
“Graffiti is a crime and it costs our citizens thousands of dollars to clean it up,” Mayor Denis Law said in a press release. “Our goal is to make people think twice before committing an act of vandalism in the first place, and to hold them responsible for and accountable for the damage.”
Property owners are responsible for removing graffiti on their properties. The new ordinance helps those owners remove that graffiti. It also helps ensure graffiti artists pay for their crimes.
“We want to punish the vandals and not the victims,” Law explained in the press release.
The city’s ultimate goal is to eradicate graffiti, city spokesperson Preeti Shridhar said.
“We’re doing all the right things to work toward that goal,” she said.
Those right things will include the hiring of a part-time graffiti abatement coordinator to organize clean-up efforts. That coordinator will be hired soon, Shridhar said.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, graffiti is a $13 billion-a-year problem. In Renton, graffiti costs thousands of dollars in clean-up costs. And the vandalism has become more prevalent in Renton and the Puget Sound area during recent years.
City official Jennifer Henning recently said the vandalism has become “almost an epidemic” in Renton. Henning is planning manager for Renton’s Department of Community and Economic Development.
City staff processed 220 graffiti reports in 2008, and five so far in 2009. City officials believe much of this graffiti is gang-related.
The city began tracking graffiti last spring.
The new Graffiti Control Ordinance is the result of a graffiti task force Mayor Law created last spring. The task force is made up of several city departments.
THE DETAILS: PARENTS FACE $5,0000 LIABILITY
• Makes it illegal to possess graffiti paraphernalia with the intention of using it to deface public or private property.
• Allows the court to order those convicted of graffiti vandalism to pay damages to the victim, including the City of Renton.
• Allows public funds to be used for graffiti removal.
• Allows the city to assign up to a $5,000 liability to the parent of a minor who commits graffiti vandalism.
• Authorizes the city to offer up to a $300 reward for information leading to the identification and apprehension of any person who commits graffiti vandalism.
• If you see “tagging” in progress, immediately call 911. Report existing graffiti by calling the city’s graffiti hotline at 425-430-7373.
• Graffiti removal kits are available for free to people who can’t afford to remove graffiti from their property. The kits are available at Renton City Hall, the Renton Community Center and other public facilities in Renton.
• The city is seeking businesses and organizations to help fight graffiti. To help, call 425-430-6591 or 425-430-6624.
• To volunteer or participate in the city’s graffiti-removal program, donate supplies for the graffiti-removal kits or to sponsor a community volunteer opportunity call 425-430-6624.
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