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Message from Mayor
Danny Jones...
Welcome to
this important part of the City of Charleston’s Web site. Thank
you for your interest in our initiative to get rid of unwanted
and destructive graffiti in our city and our neighborhoods.
As Mayor of Charleston, I am committed to making our city a more
attractive place for people to live, visit and invest in the
future. Because graffiti makes our city much less attractive for
citizens and employers, we are working with several residents
and groups in Charleston on a multi-pronged strategy to clean up
the graffiti, discourage this inappropriate behavior and
prosecute those who practice it.
The foundation of this effort is involvement by citizens who
care about our city. Several people have joined the cause, and
we hope you will, too. Your involvement can make a positive
difference in our push to make Charleston free of graffiti and
related vandalism.
As you explore our city – and this Web site – I hope you will
find new ways to help make Charleston truly a showcase city for
West Virginia.
Hotline: 304-348-6860
WE NEED YOU...The
citizens of Charleston to donate your time to help make our city
graffiti-free. Please take the time to complete our
volunteer
form so you can help us keep Charleston beautiful.
PREVENTION IS THE FIRST STEP
Graffiti is the deliberate defacing of public or private
property without the owners’ permission, regardless of the
instrument used to cause the damage.
Most of the graffiti we are experiencing in Charleston is called
hip-hop graffiti, which consists of tags, throw-ups and pieces.
A tag is the graffiti vandal’s street name or pseudonym applied
quickly and repetitively. A throw-up is a more elaborate version
of the tag, usually done in two or more colors. A piece, short
for masterpiece, is a large, detailed, mural-like drawing.
The need to be recognized and the formation of groups who tag
together are two factors that have triggered the spread of
graffiti throughout the community. The graffiti vandal’s
greatest accomplishments are to:
• achieve “fame” by having his or her work seen and respected by
others in the graffiti subculture
• have tags and pieces appear in places where an obvious risk
was taken
• and to have work appear in a newspaper, on television or in
any other medium
Graffiti is not a victimless crime. A 1995 study by Dayton
University estimated the cost of graffiti abatement nationally
to be approximately $7 billion with an estimated increase of 15%
each year. Eight months of research by the National Graffiti
Information Network confirms that estimate. Our tax dollars at
work.
The unconscious connection between graffiti and more serious
crimes causes property values to decline, dissuades business
growth and discourages tourism.
There are very real social costs associated with the appearance
of graffiti. Graffiti in public areas sends a message to
citizens that the places where they live and work and the public
transportation they use are no longer controlled by the agencies
responsible. Its appearance in neighborhoods is often perceived
by residents and passers-by as a sign that a downward spiral has
begun, even though this may not be true.
The longer graffiti is left on a surface, the more likely it is
to reoccur. When removal response time is within 24 hours, there
exists a 10% chance that the location will be tagged again;
removal within 48 hours results in a 15% chance of reoccurrence.
A two week removal response time warrants a reoccurrence rate of
100%. A one month removal response time, which our city code
currently reflects, results in a 200% predictable rate of
reoccurrence.
In addition to immediate removal, other strategies for the
prevention of graffiti include the following:
• Increase exterior lighting and consider other security
measures.
• Plant native shrubs with prickly or thorny foliage near walls
and fences.
• Limit access to roofs by moving dumpsters away from walls and
covering drainpipes to prevent vandals from scaling them.
Download National Crime Prevention Council Graffiti Brochure
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