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Safe Parks are Healthy for the Community

Safe Parks are Healthy for the Community

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Parks are an invaluable asset to all communities.  Communities with well maintained parks are thriving communities of healthy people.  Parks increase the community’s physical activities and interaction.  Parks are also known to reduce stress even if one only sits at a park bench.

For a park to provide what the community needs there are certain aspects to take into consideration.  Several characteristics that can negatively impact a park is crime, the suggestion of crime, or the suggestion of gang activity such as graffiti.  Graffiti and vandalism not only change the esthetic look of the park, it changes the feel of a park and the park is no longer inviting.

Here are some suggestions to combat the negative behavior that impacts your park:

  • Make sure there is adequate lighting
  • Create activities and programs that involve the community
  • Have Site Managers
  • Have walking routes
  • Display Maps at entrances and walk routes
  • Have Security Measures in place, such as Graffiti Cameras and patrolling officers
  • Clean up all vandalism and graffiti immediately
  • Maintain safety measures for the park and all park equipment

The NRPA has a tool to help communities evaluate their parks.  This NRPA site provides interactive tools like custom reports on value and budgets and presents data and key insights.   It would be beneficial for your parks department to look at the tools provided and use what will enhance your agency’s performance.

Keep your Park safe for a healthy community!

#ParksAndRecreation #graffiti #novandalism #publicworks #deterrence #police

Graffiti and Vandalism Cause Fear Among the Community

Graffiti and Vandalism Cause Fear Among the Community

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Within a neighborhood, people expect to feel safe. Going to the store or the park with the family should not be a time of worry and feeling unsafe and vulnerable. Unfortunately, communities have the problem of graffiti and vandalism which causes citizens to fear their very own community.

There are many reasons why people might fear their community. One of the major reasons citizens are starting to fear their community is due to the increasing numbers of graffiti and vandalism crimes. These types of crimes are on the rise and they are causing fear that worse crimes are lurking in the shadows. When cities are covered with graffiti and other kinds of vandalism it gives the citizens a feeling of neglect, and that the crimes in the city are not being monitored and laws are not being enforced. According to statistics, “vandalism and other signs of physical deterioration are often taken as signs of other social problems, which in turn leads to fear within the society”. If these nuisance crimes aren’t taken care of, then people will continue to live in fear and not able to enjoy the parks and other community features the city has worked so hard to provide.

How can these crimes be limited?

  • Community participation:

When someone sees an act of graffiti or vandalism occurring, they should report it.  This is called Community Policing, which is very effective in helping the police force or park rangers curb nuisance crimes.

Crime Deterrent Cameras, which are different from traditional surveillance cameras, are essential tools to stop vandalism and graffiti before it happens.

How to Solve the Graffiti Problem

How to Solve the Graffiti Problem

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Graffiti is a community problem affecting people from all walks of life.   Nuisance crimes are a problem for all cities varying in the crimes and magnitude.  Unfortunately, graffiti causes residential and business property values to be less, invites more crime, and increases urban decay.  So, what is a community to do?

The United States Department of Justice printed a pdf defining Community Policing.  In the pdf, problem solving is:

  • Scanning: Identifying and prioritizing problems
  • Analysis: Researching what is known about the problem
  • Response: Developing solutions to bring about lasting reductions in the number and extent of problems
  • Assessment: Evaluating the success of the responses
  • Using the crime triangle to focus on immediate conditions (victim/offender/location)

Once the community has identified the area or “hot spot” of graffiti, a solution to stop or deter the graffiti is the next step.  Perpetrators are dangerous so this can be tricky.  How can the community get involved but not be put at risk to gang members or violent individuals?  The best way to approach this problem is to report the area to the neighborhood enforcement agency.  Community policing requires a partnership for example between the community, public works and the police. Some communities even have volunteers for this type of crime and the support of non-profit organizations or private business.  The key is the partnership.  The law enforcement agencies are much more effective in a city where they have the help and partnership from the community.

Preventative measures should include:

  • Bright lights, which shine in the shadows
  • Legislation with high penalties
  • Community service for perpetrators
  • Using social media to ask the community for help
  • Using social media to spread the word and advertise the penalties
  • Using anti-graffiti cameras to stop and deter
How to Stop Graffiti

How to Stop Graffiti

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The crime of graffiti is an ever-growing problem in every major city in the United States. You can easily spot this public eye-sore lining the once blank walls of businesses, in our alley-ways, on trash cans, and even mailboxes. More often than not, the most common form of graffiti is placed in areas meant to designate a specific gang’s territory, acting both as a sort of physical marker and as a warning to other neighboring gangs to stay out. This type of graffiti is most often found in the more metropolitan areas, or areas of a city that’s been prey to urban decay.

Another common form of graffiti is that of a “street artist”. These so-called artist’s don’t have any gang affiliation and often spray-paint large murals depicting some sort of ethnic or urban scene in public areas or on private property. While many of these “street artists” can display some artistic credibility, their choice of canvas is just as illegal as those of gang graffiti artists.

Of the many problems that the crime of graffiti can cause, the cost and resources of graffiti abatement can quickly add up. In 2014, the city of Los Angeles, California paid $7 million to clean up roughly 32.4 million square feet of graffiti-adorned public areas. This money had to be culled from other budgets that may have benefitted other public programs run by the city. Once these instances of graffiti are removed, they quickly reappear moments later.

Because recurrences of graffiti happen so often, the problem is met best with a means of quick abatement and followed by measures designed to prevent its repetitive qualities. While the crime of graffiti happens most often at night and when the possibility of being seen is low, ideally-placed anti-graffiti cameras are an excellent substitute when civilian or security personnel oversight can’t be accomplished or afforded. In addition to these graffiti cameras, utilizing social media sites, such as Facebook, to help identify suspects and educate the public on the consequences of graffiti are steps in the right direction to help stifle the occurrence and recurrence of the crime of graffiti.