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NC graf.


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http://www.news-record.com/content/2010/09/08/article/greensboro_seeing_a_rise_in_graffiti_vandalism

 

GREENSBORO — It shows up on street signs. It colors city and county bridges. It’s sprung up on light poles, sidewalks, roadways and, recently, on the entrance sign at the Greensboro Arboretum.

 

The law calls it vandalism. Others call it artwork. But to many residents, law enforcement and the transportation crews assigned to clean it up — it’s nothing more than an eyesore and a hit to taxpayers’ wallets.

 

Graffiti is an issue that continues to plague Guilford County, and local officials want residents to know how they can help tackle the problem.

 

Sgt. Bud Blaylock, a community resource officer with the Greensboro Police Department, is often the first person many city residents turn to with their complaints about graffiti.

 

Lately, it’s been hitting especially hard in Lindley Park and in areas surrounding UNCG.

 

“Every school year, when college comes back into session, we see an increase in graffiti,” Blaylock said.

 

“None of it has been gang graffiti. They are just self-proclaimed artists that want to 'express themselves,’ for a lack of a better phrase. But it’s vandalism and injury to personal property.”

 

The markings have shown up everywhere — on a real estate sign, roadways, construction sites, garages — just about anywhere the vandals can find a canvas.

 

Often the markings are symbols or three or four letters spray-painted together.

 

The crews often work in packs of two or three in the early-morning hours with someone acting as a lookout for the sprayer, Blaylock said. Their spray paint cans are usually in backpacks, and he tells residents to look for paint on suspects’ fingers.

 

“We need the citizens to round up and help us (when they spot someone doing graffiti) because we can’t be at every street corner,” Blaylock said.

 

If someone is seen actively spraying, Blaylock said to call 911 so that an officer can be dispatched. If graffiti is found after the fact, he asks residents to call the city so that crews can come out and remove markings as soon as possible.

 

If it happens on private property, it’s the homeowner’s responsibility.

 

“The longer it stays, the more credibility it gives to the person who does the graffiti,” Blaylock said. “If you cover it up quickly, it lets them know we aren’t going to tolerate it.”

 

Blaylock said it helps if residents can get photographs, which police keep on file as they try to link markings to the people charged with vandalism.

 

For the fiscal year that ended July 1, city crews cleaned up 263 incidents of graffiti citywide, costing taxpayers a total of $9,700, said Michael Cramer, business and operations manager for the city’s transportation department.

 

In July and August, 44 cases have been recorded.

 

Street signs and signal boxes near traffic lights are where graffiti is found most often, Cramer said.

 

“It would be great if we got more calls in (from residents) because a lot come from my staff or city staff going around and finding problems,” he said.

 

State transportation officials have been called out to clean up graffiti eight times since January at a cost of about $1,000 for each call, said Mike Mills, the local division engineer for N.C. DOT.

 

That includes markings found on bridges, sound barriers and interstate construction sites and other odd places that sometimes require road closures or special equipment rentals to clean up.

 

“They are pretty innovative,” Mills said about the vandals. “We had a railroad bridge over I-73 where they climbed up a drain pipe in a median to paint girders.”

 

Mills said crews try to address the problem spots as soon as possible, but graffiti removal is often tedious and costly.

 

“It’s not a cheap process to remove it, depending on the type of surface and where it is located,” he said.

 

 

Cheap fame. Hope you got a dental plan.

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This is a comment someone made about that article...Lol

 

"Personally I'm for breaking the punks fingers with his spray can, strip them naked, take their cloths and leave them on the street covered in only their own paint.

 

I think this would substantially decrease repeat offenses.

 

Just my $0.02"

 

hahahahahaha

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