BILOXI - I realize that the reason The Sun Herald is ignoring my repeated messages to Sound Off about the graffiti in downtown Biloxi is probably because you don't want to give publicity to the culprits, but something has got to be done about this. Who is responsible for cleaning it off the buildings, public and private? This morning on my way to work it had spread from Ohr Street over to Caillavet Street.
Someone has vandalized two privately owned buildings in downtown Biloxi and a utility box in front of the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art by painting graffiti on them.
The graffiti also has been scrawled on a commercial building near the entrance to Caillavet Street and on the back wall of a motel on George E. Ohr Street. A Sun Herald reader wants to know how the city handles the problem.
"It's very hard to take action against someone unless we have a witness," said Tim Hendricks, a patrol supervisor for the Biloxi Police Department. "Most of the time it occurs at night and then gets reported the next day."
Public works employees for the city are responsible for maintaining buildings owned by the city, but private property owners are responsible for taking care of their buildings.
Police officers also help out from time to time by staging a volunteer day when they paint over graffiti. They recently painted over one eyesore on the seawall near the President Casino.
Defacing property with graffiti is usually classified as malicious mischief, a misdemeanor.
Hendricks said he is not aware of any trend with graffiti.
"Most of what we see is general graffiti," he said. "It's usually specific to the person who does it. They have their own style. I would say we haven't seen any more than usual."