Police ask 8th district residents
to keep them in the loop

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

Those who live in the 8th Police District and see graffiti in their neighborhoods should by all means call the city’s Anti-Graffiti Network or the Community Life Improvement Program to have it removed, according to the district’s commanding officer.
But before you do that, Capt. Deborah Kelly asks, call the police first.
All too often, Kelly explained during the district’s third monthly community meeting on May 6, folks don’t report the vandalism to police. As a result, it never gets documented or investigated. And though the graffiti may be removed or covered quickly in those instances, the perpetrators remain on the streets to repeat their insidious crimes.
"Call the police. We put it on paper, take pictures and clean it up," Kelly said. "E-mail the police and CLIP if you have to."
With the prevalence of mischievous behavior among local young people expected to heat up with the seasonal weather, the district commander wants to spread the word about the best ways to counter graffiti problems. Keeping properties, public and private, free from graffiti is an important step in preserving a prosperous community.
"Graffiti is a quality-of-life crime that has a negative impact on schools, churches, businesses and our private homes," Kelly said. "Hopefully, we can devise a plan to attack that."
Graffiti damages and depreciates the value of property. It’s unsightly. It demonstrates a lack of respect for other people and community institutions. And it can send a negative message about a community to visitors as well as those who live there.
"It suggests government’s failure to protect citizens and control lawbreakers," Kelly said.
Adherents to the "broken window" theory would say that it invites more serious crime into the community as the first rung on a ladder to lawlessness.
On a national scale, communities spend $12 billion a year on cleaning graffiti. Other immeasurable costs include lost patronage and revenue by businesses and public transit agencies in high-graffiti areas as well as a public fear of possible gang activity.
Organized gangs don’t exist in the 8th district, according to Kelly, but there is plenty of non-gang graffiti in the community.
Crime experts break graffiti into five categories, each with its own perpetrators, motivations and objectives.
Gang graffiti is one kind. It’s typically found in urban areas and used by gang members as a form of communication. It can mark territory, express a threat to rivals or memorialize the death of a member.
Another type of graffiti looks like gang graffiti but really is the work of copycats, who wish to appear like gang members but have no actual affiliation.
Common types found in Northeast Philadelphia include "tagger" graffiti and spontaneous/malicious graffiti.
Taggers each have their own adopted name or "tag." Their objective is to gain notoriety by affixing their name to as many surfaces as possible. Police like to document the places and dates of tagger graffiti to help build stronger criminal cases against individuals who get caught. More property damage leads to more serious charges. Other taggers look to create more complex images considered by some as street art, although it’s equally damaging and illegal.
Spontaneous graffiti can appear anywhere at any time. Sometimes it’s targeted at a specific individual or institution out of anger or vengeance, but it can be done merely on a whim as a result of peer pressure or boredom.
Finally, ideological graffiti features political, sectarian or racist messages or symbols, often expressing hate. Places of worship are often targeted with this type.
Another key aspect of graffiti, Kelly said, is that it’s not limited to spray paint. Graffiti offenders will use many materials including markers, paint pens, shoe polish, rocks, razors, keys, glass cutters and etching chemicals to deface property.
To combat graffiti, property owners can add lighting and minimize shrubs and trees to increase visibility in vulnerable areas. They can "vandal proof" walls with highly-textured surfaces or graffiti-resistant coverings. Fences can help keep graffiti offenders off the property.
In the community, Kelly added, merchants can help reduce the problem by controlling the sale of spray paint and other graffiti materials, and local organizations can develop youth diversionary programs to give kids something to do besides vandalism.
Another key is to hold parents accountable for the actions of their children, although such efforts always pose a difficult challenge, according to the captain.
It’s important to remove graffiti as soon as possible, Kelly said, but making sure that the police know about it and document it is crucial.
To report graffiti in progress, call 911. To report it after the fact in the 8th Police District, call 215-686-3080. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com