Bernalillo County Anti-Graffiti Program

Call 24 ERASE (243-7273)

2400 Broadway Blvd. SE Building D  87102

The word ‘graffiti’ once conjured up images of innocent messages, such as “Mark loves Lucy” or “Class of ’78.” Simple innocuous scribbling have now become essentially messages of the past. Unfortunately, today most of the graffiti that pollutes our City and County landscapes contain messages of hatred, racism, drug activity and gang warfare.

When addressing graffiti vandalism, it is important that we approach it in a comprehensive and collective manner. The Anti-Graffiti Program Mission Statement was developed with this concept in mind.

The Anti-Graffiti Program Mission Statement

To keep Bernalillo County aesthetically beautiful by preventing and removing graffiti through five major components: Graffiti Removal Services, Extreme Make-Over, Community Empowerment, Education, and Enforcement strategies.

To support our mission, the Anti-Graffiti Program has a variety of services and programs to offer. In this report, we will demonstrate how the program is working in keeping with the mission statement to meet established program objectives.

Graffiti Removal Service

On a daily basis one can read or hear about graffiti vandalism on the local media. Just like the big cities and counties around the United States, graffiti is a huge problem that cost the taxpayer thousands of dollars each year to repair the physical damage.

We strongly believe that even the smallest mark on a wall is like sending out an open invitation for crime and vandalism. Sensing this teens and other possible offenders become bold and intensify their harassment and vandalism. Consequently, the value of property devalues and residents become fearful and withdraw from community involvement.

Graffiti vandalism is a power struggle between the vandals and the community and the only strategy that can be an effective deterrent is rapid graffiti removal. It is for this very reason that we encourage the public to contact our graffiti hotline even if they see the smallest mark on a fence or wall.

How to Report Graffiti: When reporting graffiti to the graffiti Hotline (243-7273) please make sure you have the following information available:

·        Address (Street and Number)

·        Nearest Cross Street

·        Structure

·        Original Color

·        Your Name

·        Your Day Time Phone Number

Your name and number is requested in case that we cannot find the location. Please speak slowly and clearly in to the phone.  

Extreme Make-Over: “The Home Edition”

Henry G. Cisneros, the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, published a series of essays in 1995 titled, “Defensible Space: Deterring Crime and Building Community.” Throughout these essays Cisneros describes the “Broken Window Theory” developed by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling. The theory suggests that the following sequence of events can be expected in deteriorating neighborhoods:

§         Evidence of decay in neighborhoods remaining for long periods of time: accumulated trash, broken windows, and deteriorated building exteriors.

§         People who live and work in these areas feel more vulnerable and as a result, they begin to withdraw. They become less willing to intervene to maintain public order or address physical signs of deterioration.

§         Teenagers and other possible offenders become bold and intensify their harassment and vandalism. Residents become more fearful and withdraw further from community involvement. Consequently, this atmosphere attracts offenders from outside the area, who sense that these neighborhoods have become vulnerable and less risky site for crime.

Cisneros concluded that “The Broken Window Theory” suggest strategies for neighborhood order. For example, rapid graffiti removal and beautification programs are a strong deterrent against the deterioration of our communities.

The Extreme Make Over program was developed and implemented with the “Broken Window Theory” in mind. The sites that received attention during the project were all located in Bernalillo County communities where graffiti is most prevalent.  The following pages and photographic images will provide samples of the work that was completed during this project.  

Community Empowerment

We have often heard people say, “If you give a little, you’ll get back so much more.” The Community Empowerment component was designed to benefit both the community and volunteers. This program confirms that community service activities have a unique way of developing an individual’s leadership skills, sense of community, self-worth, and other positive characteristics. There is a rippling effect that ultimately results in invaluable benefits to the entire community. 

When we provided our volunteers with the proper training and appropriate tools and supplies to perform their work assignments, Bernalillo County benefited immensely. The Anti-Graffiti Program Coordinator and Volunteers:

§         Encourage residents to adopt a proactive role in addressing graffiti and litter in their neighborhoods.

§         Repaired over 100,000 square feet of graffiti damage at no cost to the taxpayer from 2001 – 2004. Total savings for the taxpayer and Bernalillo County was between $80,000.00 and $85,000.00 in graffiti removal cost.

§         Collected over 16,000 pounds (8 tons) of litter and rubbish, an equivalent of approximately 800 trash bags. These statistics do not include the Parks and Recreation “Pride Day Clean-ups.”

Volunteerism is impacting the communities of Bernalillo County, as you see in the following pages. The Anti-Graffiti Program mission is to continue to develop and foster stronger partnerships with the community.

Education

Educating school children, neighborhood associations, and other members of the community is a proactive and preventative method of eradicating graffiti and litter in Bernalillo County. Education has the potential to remedy most problems. The Education Program is perhaps the most important component of the Anti-Graffiti Program. The program objective is to educate and keep the public informed: Graffiti vandalism and litter is not a victimless crime. Vandalism is a symptom of crime and affects the quality of life for all citizens. 

 The Anti-Graffiti Program is extremely successful in sharing information about graffiti vandalism and the ramifications that are associated with litter. We will continue to build and improve the quality of the Anti-Graffiti Education Program.

Enforcement

The enforcement component of the mission statement was developed based on the fact that there is no consistent practice or policy in addressing individuals who commit crimes involving vandalism. There are vast numbers of individuals who have been sited by Law Enforcement Agencies for crimes involving vandalism, however, they were not held accountable for their actions.

Each year Bernalillo County, the City of Albuquerque, Albuquerque Public Schools, and the business community spend an enormous amount of money on repairing vandalism. Perhaps the greatest cost of not having a consistent protocol is the wasted intelligence that could be shared with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department, Gang Unit, Probation Department, the Juvenile Court System, and the Anti-Graffiti Program. Consequently, we run the risk of giving the perception that we do not care about the cost factors. We must hold the people who commit acts of vandalism and crimes accountable for their actions.

In a concerted effort to create an anti-vandalism protocol, the Anti-Graffiti Coordinator designed a program that would not only hold young offenders accountable for their destructive behavior, but more importantly, provide the offender with knowledge that will encourage them to become a part of the solution instead of the source of the problem.

In early April 2003, the Bernalillo County Anti-Graffiti Coordinator met with representatives of the District Attorney’s Office, the Juvenile Court system, and the Juvenile Probation and Parole Department. The objective of these meetings was to provide information about the new Anti-Vandalism Education-Restitution Program and to gain their support by incorporating a referral system. The Anti-Vandalism Education-Restitution Program received a favorable response resulting in five referrals at the end of April 2003. As of December 2004, ten (10) participants have successfully completed the program.  In the following pages, we will provide information and a photographic overview of this program.

“Graffiti vandalism and litter is not a victimless crime. Vandalism is a symptom of crime and affects the quality of life for all citizens.”