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Protecting Cemeteries from Vandalism

Protecting Cemeteries from Vandalism

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Protecting cemeteries from vandalism is difficult. For some people, visiting and disturbing the cemeteries is considered a non-violent prank for ghostly fun.  Although it is not.  Cemeteries are the resting place for people who are loved, respected, and honored.  It is horrifying to visit the resting place of a loved one only to find out the gravestone was knocked over and suffered graffiti.  The indignation boils over to want justification.

Unfortunately, protecting cemeteries from vandalism particularly in the month of October is especially difficult because cemeteries are notoriously vandalized during the month of October, due to Halloween. Many cemeteries brace for this holiday that can bring destruction.  Extra precautions to protect the resting place from vandalism, graffiti, and malicious acts are necessary.

In addition to malicious pranks, cemeteries sadly are the target of hatred.  Criminal behaviors leave damage targeting the grave site because of someone’s religion, skin color, gender identity, or political identity.  Regardless of the reason, cemeteries should never be the object of vandalism and should be protected for all future generations.

To protect cemeteries, a Cemetery Protection Plan must be implemented.

Although protection can come in many forms.  An effective plan will contact the following:

  • Educating the next generations to respect and honor grave sites as a place of reverence
  • Creating laws with stiff fines and penalties such as restitution
  • Heavier penalties for historic grave sites
  • If possible, control the access to the cemetery with fences
  • Install Vandalism Cemetery Cameras, designed specifically to deter vandalism in cemeteries

 

Tools Needed to Stop Vandalism

Tools Needed to Stop Vandalism

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Unfortunately, disadvantaged neighborhoods suffer from the highest crime rates. Once certain kinds of crime infect a neighborhood, it becomes trapped in a vicious, downward spiral of depravity. One of the crimes which contributes to this downward spiral most is vandalism. Vandalism is an incredibly visible crime that communicates weak surveillance and law enforcement to the community, law-keepers and criminals alike. Thus, vandalism indirectly causes more crime in its setting. Furthermore, the damages caused by vandalism increases tax rates and insurance rates in communities, further debilitating the local economy. The resulting environment is a depressing and threatening one.

The negative effects of vandalism especially harms youths as they are heavily influenced by their environment. The costs of vandalism siphon money away from school funding and other beneficial city functions.  Vandalism robs children of the safety of knowing there is an authority that cares enough to prevent others from destroying property.  More than half the vandalism crimes are associated with 13-14 year old youths who may be seeking attention, acceptance, or venting their angst in a destructive manner. The criminal activity of the youths will only doom their fate to remain bleak and dismal, but they are most likely not aware of this.

The best option to rescue these neighborhoods is through forming strong communal bonds and actively preventing crimes like vandalism. The presence of strong bonds between neighbors is shown to reduce crime rates and improve the lives of adolescents. However, communities need the right tools to combat the war against vandalism. A robust crime deterrent system has been created that is especially designed to stop nuisance crimes like vandalism. These vandalism cameras go beyond identifying anyone who trespasses on property.  They are a tool a community needs to change the behavior of the vandals and effectively prevent vandalism from taking place.

#novandalism #stopvandals #parksandrecreation #weareparksandrec #publicworks #security

Brief History of Vandalism in Parks

Brief History of Vandalism in Parks

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The history of vandalism is a long and tragic one. The term “vandalism” was first coined by the Abbe Henri Gregoire, the Bishop of Blois in 1794. The Bishop coined the term for the purpose of denouncing and quenching the widespread riots which had enveloped all of France in the early months of the French Revolution. The Bishop was inspired to use the term “vandalism” as he remembered the violent reputation of the Vandals. The Vandals were a Germanic tribe who played a huge role in the fall of the Roman Empire. The people had become so out of control that they were beginning to act like the Vandals, destroying the very country they were trying to liberate from an oppressive French monarchy. The Bishop wanted to re-establish the pure and good principles of the revolution that had been lost in the hateful confusion of the rioting. So, the Bishop labeled the destructive behavior of the rioters as “vandalism.” The effort to paint the rioters’ behavior in a negative light succeeded. The term “vandalism” caught like wildfire and spread across Europe within weeks. The term originally referred to systematic revolutionary violence, but soon began to predominantly refer to the general desecration of art and architecture. All this to say, vandalism is no peripheral matter, regardless of where it takes place.

Unfortunately, the old practice of vandalism is still alive and well in our communities, especially public parks. The irresponsible and vengeful vandalism of public parks inflicts crippling blows to nearby residents. The presence of vandalism mars a community’s image and decreases real estate values. Many parks and recreation departments need to spend 30% of their maintenance budget to repair damages caused by vandalism, leaving no room for improving facilities. Communities need to put an end to vandalism.

The best way to stop vandalism from continuing to destroy communities is by installing state-of-the-art Vandalism Deterrent Cameras, which are specially designed to stop vandalism in parks, providing communities security in knowing their parks are protected and warding off vandals.

Vandalism Hurts Communities

Vandalism Hurts Communities

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A study has been done which demonstrates that where crime rates go up, property prices go down. When property prices go down, the economic livelihood of a community suffers. All kinds of crime contribute to this housing value avalanche, even crimes which at first glance may seem harmless, such as vandalism.

However, vandalism is actually the crime which most negatively affects the economic values of homes in an area. The reason behind this reality is that crimes do not occur in a vacuum, isolated from each other. The repeated occurrences of crime in one area foster an atmosphere of lawlessness which emboldens would-be criminals to actualize their illegal intentions. After a certain number of crimes occur in a single area, the atmosphere gives birth to a crime hot spot.

Unfortunately, crime hot spots cause a significant decrease in housing prices in the immediate area, even more so than the average crime rate of the whole town. And the worst kind of hot spot is a vandalism hot spot. The logic is such: vandalism affects the appearance of an area long term, allowing everyone to witness the continual aftermath of a crime.

House buyers read the anarchy and vulgarities of vandalism as a sign that no authority is in control of the area, that the neighborhood is in decline, and so they avoid these areas if they can.

Research suggests that physically observable crimes more effectively induce fear in the community than non-observable crimes. Thus, the strongest correlation between levels of different kinds of crime that can be found is between presence of vandalism hot spots in a community and violence, car theft, and house burglary.

The best way to combat vandalism and defend the economic livelihood of a community is to utilize crime deterrent cameras. Most vandalism is extremely expensive to erase and repair and occurs at times when there is little chance of the perps being caught in the act. Therefore, by strategically placing crime deterrent cameras, would-be vandals will be halted before they have a chance to commit the rapid, yet costly crime.

Preventing vandalism will benefit communities immensely!

#FightVandalism #ProtectOurCities #NoGraffiti