³Heightened Graffiti  Removal Effort:

The cost of healing the trauma of violation to personal property and the dignity of public areas²

by  John Crumlish

The Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) East Valley office staff has been driving up and down our neighborhood streets, reporting graffiti and bulk items on curbs and abandoned empty lots so that

it gets removed immediately. The neighborhood revitalization effort in No. Hollywood is in full force.

"Graffiti negatively impacts our physical and social environment. Its presence encourages a spiral of decline dramatically affecting people's quality of life.                              Furthermore, the cost of removal is significant and

represents money which could be better spent on valuable services in the North Hollywood Community,"  said Margarita DeEscontrias, newly appointed Regional Administrator for the East Valley Region of the CRA/LA.

Some consider graffiti an eyesore and others deem it an art form, but no matter which view one takes, such urban scrawl costs California aesthetically, socially and economically. The Nograf Network, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting the graffiti problem.,

estimates that graffiti and its removal costs run approximately $93 million annually in the State. The California Association of Realtors reports that

property values drop 20% in graffiti-ridden areas, contributing another approximate $63 billion to the price neighborhoods pay for graffiti.

In California schools alone, documented cases of graffiti add up to approximately $23 million annually; 90% of the school graffiti incidents fall below $100 and are therefore unreported, and so the actual amount is much higher. Frustrated California civic leaders and residents, however, are determined to blot their neighborhoods clean ­ one tag at a time.

Graffiti remains a worldwide problem. The Nograf Network estimates that the annual graffiti cost is $1.3 billion in the U.S. and $28 billion globally; not including costs incurred by private property or business owners or any amount due to loss of business or decreased property value in graffiti-prone areas.

Although LA was second to New York in the survey¹s graffiti-cost tallies across the U.S., city leaders recently announced the first-year success of UNTAG (Uniting Neighborhoods To Abolish Graffiti).  LA City Council member

Eric Garcetti, LA Police Dept. Chief William Bratton, and Commissioner Cynthia Ruiz inaugurated the neighborhood-based campaign to reduce tagging and vandalism in Council District 13 a year ago. Key to the program were a network of block captains and the installation of safety cameras at graffiti hot spots. Having vowed to lower graffiti in the district by 50% within 2 years, Garcetti, Bratton and Ruiz recently reported 62% fewer tags in District 13 after one year of UNTAG.

"Every community struggles with graffiti, but this proves that no community has to tolerate it," said Garcetti. "When you have innovative policing, determination on the part of government, and individuals who want to make a difference in their neighborhoods, you can accomplish anything."

Bratton called the success of UNTAG ³community­based policing at its best,² and urged other community groups and neighborhood councils to use the UNTAG model for improving their own areas.

One of UNTAG¹s block captains likened graffiti clean up to necessary hygiene. "Painting out graffiti is a lot like brushing your teeth - you have to do it every day to make a difference," said Jocelyn Geaga-Rosenthal. "But the result is clear. My neighborhood has a great big smile."

Having long studied and assessed graffiti¹s blight, the CRL/LA East Valley office has implemented regular sweeps of the area to spot existing and potential graffiti targets. Civic pride and responsibility are among the strongest incentives for neighborhood anti-graffiti efforts, but vigilance against the crime has an additional perk. (Graffiti with damage over $400 is a felony, punishable by imprisonment.) The Graffiti Apprehension Reward Payment Program offers $1,000 for information leading to the arrest, conviction or placed­on-probation of a person or persons involved in graffiti related vandalism or defacement. To report graffiti, call 311. In the East San Fernando Valley call 818-375-1000. In Los Angeles, call