Graffiti Busters

8/4/2019 Graffiti Busters

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Graffiti Busters is a high-

impact service strategy in which the

mayor’s office leverages the power of

ordinary citizens to turn the tide in the

fight against graffiti.

NE I GHBORHOOD

REV I TAL I ZAT ION

GRAFFITI BUSTERSGRAFFITI BUSTERS

a s e rv i c e b l u e p r i n t I M P A C T A R E A :

S e rv i c e a s a S t ra t e gy :



M P A C T A R E A : N e i g h b o r h o o d r e v i t a l i z a t i o n



I M P A C T A R E A : N e i g h b o r h o o d r e v i t a l i z a

Grati is a crime that costs communities more than $8 billion a year toclean up.1 While many “taggers” view it as self-expressive art, grati has anegative impact on the surrounding area. Grati generates the perception of blight and heightens fear of gang activity. Te appearance of grati is often

perceived by residents and passers-by as a sign that a downward spiral hasbegun, regardless of whether that is actually true. Grati has been correlated

with increased littering, and it is a common concern that where grati istolerated, serious crimes such as theft and assault are a greater risk – yet whenthese areas are cleaned up and grati is removed, these concerns subside.2 Grati also contributes to lost revenue associated with declines in property value and reduced retail sales.3 By enlisting volunteers to identify and removegrati on a regular basis (e.g., monthly), the mayor’s oce can encourageneighborhood pride and motivate citizens to stay involved by reporting new

grati or helping with further removal.

1 http://bit.ly/pco7ku2 For example, a Harvard University study conducted in Massachusetts concluded that improvements to the physicalenvironment of “crime hot spots” generated a 20% reduction in calls to the police. Braga, A. A. and Bond, B. J. (2008),Policing Crime and Disorder Hot Spots: A Randomized Controlled rial. Criminology, 46: 577–607.http://bit.ly/iu8GYJ. See also http://www.suolk.edu/34417.html.3 “How does grati ‘hurt’?” Grati Hurts: http://bit.ly/gPWuv3. Te average cost per person per year in city rev-enue is between $1 and $3. Te causal link between grati and crime was reported in “Study: grati encouragescrime” in Public Works Magazine: http://bit.ly/lMICc4. Further backing is provided by “Grati in the UrbanEverday,” a study from April 2010 that found strong correlation between grati and crime in Vancouver, B.C.:

http://bit.ly/mDo683.

Tis initiative rallies a corps of volunteers

from across the city to participate inregular cleanups of grati in theirneighborhoods and elsewhere, and thenhelps keep grati away by engagingthe volunteers in follow-up eorts.Volunteers conduct assessments toidentify the type and location of gratito be cleaned and then remove it usingmaterials appropriate for each blightedsurface.

Graf f i t i Busters is a

h igh - impact serv ice

strategy in wh ich

the mayor’s of f ice

leverages the power

of ord inary c i t i zens

to turn the t ide in the

f ight aga inst graf f i t i .

BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND

GRAFFITI BUSTERSGRAFFITI BUSTERS




REQUIRED ELEMENTSREQUIRED ELEMENTS

2 Mayor’s oce, along with any relevant partners, secures suppliesto assess and clean up grati throughout the city. Te most com-

mon supplies needed for this work include gloves, paint rollers, paint,solvent, and pressure-washing equipment.

3Volunteers conduct assessments to identify the location and typeof grati to be removed. eams of volunteers then return with the

appropriate supplies to clean or cover it.

1Mayor’s oce brings together city ocials to identify city resources to support the initiative and encourage property owners in the target area(s) to grant permission for volunteers tocome on private property and conduct grati cleanup.

4

Mayor’s oce encourages ongoing engagement by asking the vol-unteers and the public to help the city spot grati and take part in

the city’s grati-ghting eorts.

5Mayor’s oce tracks and reports impact metrics for the initia-tive. Required metrics include:

a. Number of incidents and estimated square feet of grati reported in volunteer assessments

b. Number of incidents and estimated square feet of

grati removed or covered

c. Number of returning volunteers

Additional metrics that may be tracked but are not requiredinclude:

• Amount of time (days/weeks/months) locationsremain grati-free

• Number of residents from the targeted areas whovolunteer with Grati Busters

• Number of residents who help monitor and report

grati (e.g., who also helped with grati cleanup)




1. Engage relevant city ocials to participate in the initiative. A range of city ocials whose work relates to the ght against grati, includingocials working on neighborhood beautication, public safety, parks andrecreation, policing, programs that work with troubled youth, and any programs already focusing on grati cleanup, should be asked to help.Tese internal stakeholders can help the city target the volunteer eortand determine what resources the city brings to bear. For example, parks

and recreation departments or departments of public works may be able toprovide equipment and supplies for painting, paint removal, and pressure-

washing.

2. Get permission from property owners in the target area to do grati cleanup,as required by local regulations. In New York City, for example, whereverthere is grati on private property, the city needs written permission fromthe property owner to remove it. Check your city’s local laws or ordinancesto ensure grati-removing eorts are in compliance with local regulations.If the city does not already have a process for property owners to grant thatpermission, the mayor’s oce may choose to create one that is quick anduser-friendly. For example, New York oers a “Forever Grati Free” formthat can be led online (see Resources section for more details).

3. Invite local partners to participate. Local non-prot, faith-based, andcommunity-based organizations can augment the city’s operationalcapacity and ability to recruit and manage volunteers. Help from theseorganizations can be invaluable not just on the days of the grati cleanup,but for as long as the initiative runs. In addition to formal organizations,the mayor’s oce may want to recruit volunteer “block captains” to amplify recruitment and add additional management capacity for clean-up days ineach target neighborhood.

Laying the groundwork

EXECUTING GRAFFITI BUSTERS EXECUTING GRAFFITI BUSTERS




4. Secure needed supplies. Te principal materials required for grati removalare painting supplies (e.g., gloves, paint, paint rollers), chemical removers,

and pressure-washing equipment. Some grati may require specializedremoval methods such as: scraping with razor blades, sand or soda blasting,sanding, or mineral spirits. Other useful but optional materials that sponsorsmight provide include water and snacks, printed material (e.g., posters, iers,or postcards), and t-shirts.

(Laying the groundwork continued)

Grati Busters includes three main tasks for volunteers: assessing anddocumenting the extent of the grati in a given area, removing each

instance of grati, and continuing to monitor the area for grati. Temost eective way to organize the volunteers for the rst two tasks is forassessment to be done rst, so that data can be collected on the type andextent of grati in the entire area, followed as soon as possible (ideally the next day, but at least within the next 7-10 days for public property,or within one month for private property) by removal teams who areequipped appropriately for the range of cleaning tasks. Assessment andremoval should occur on a regular – monthly or quarterly – basis to detertagging.

1. Organize grati assessment teams to document existing grati in thetarget areas. Tese teams will document each incident of grati withdetails such as the following, accompanied by photos, for eventual before/after documentation:

coordinating voLunteer teams

• Te closest street address or intersection and additional noteson the specic location

• Whether the grati is on public property, private property, orproperty ownership is unknown

• Te surface type and substance to be removed (sharing thechart in the Resources section entitled “Removal echniques”can provide a common terminology for volunteers to use)

• A measurement of the square footage of grati




Te mayor’s oce or lead partner establishes a process to collect data from

all volunteer teams and compiles a report on the initiative’s impact. Impact istracked and reported by measuring the following required metrics:• Number of incidents and the estimated square feet of grati reported

in volunteer assessments• Number of incidents and the estimated total square feet of grati

removed or covered• Number of returning volunteers

Te mayor’s oce may also consider it useful to document the following

optional metrics:• Amount of time (days/weeks/months) locations remain grati-free• Number of residents from the targeted areas who volunteer with Grati

Busters• Number of residents who help monitor and report grati (e.g., who

also helped with grati cleanup)

measuring impact

2. Organize grati removal teams to follow up on the assessment by cleaningor covering each incident of grati. Where grati is on private property,the city rst needs to gain permission to enter. Removal teams will:

3. Once the grati has been removed, volunteers are asked to continuehelping the city monitor the area for grati, emphasizing the importanceof helping the city respond in the days and weeks immediately after

removal. o help with this, the mayor’s oce or relevant partners shoulddevelop a method or system to capture volunteer reports of repeat gratiincidents (e.g., through a website or online form) and plan to respondquickly to such occurrences.

• Plan removal methods beforehand so that they arrive with tools

appropriate for working with the underlying material to be cleaned,the substance to be removed, and the length of time the grati hasbeen present. (See the Resources section for information on removaltechniques.)

• Record data on which instances of grati were successfully removedso that the mayor’s oce can track the overall progress.




Fundraising For graFFiti Busters Grati Busters is a terric sponsorship opportunity for businesses,foundations, and individual donors through funding or in-kind donations.For example, there are pre-packaged grati removal kits available from a

number of companies for a range of prices, often as little as $10. (See theResources section for more information on grati removal kits.) Sincegrati removal will make the strongest impression on the residents of agiven neighborhood, when approaching locally-focused businesses youmight consider oering sponsorship at a neighborhood-by-neighborhoodlevel.

If seeking philanthropic funding, the mayor’s oce or nonprot partnersmay develop a short proposal that describes the opportunity for support

and how the funds will be used. Elements of a typical proposal include:

• Description of Grati Busters• How this initiative will positively impact the community (e.g.,

more beautiful neighborhoods, greater civic pride, less crime)• Te amount of funding requested, proposed breakdown of

grant(s) and how those funds will be used• Te metrics that will be collected to assess progress• Information on Cities of Service (this is especially helpful for

national organizations)

• Recognition plan for the donor (this could include logos ont-shirts if your city is creating them, branding on your service

website if you have one, etc.)

recognizing voLunteers and encouraging Further

invoLvement

One of the great values a city can gain from volunteer cleanups is a coregroup of highly-engaged citizens in each neighborhood who are willingto report grati on an ongoing basis and participate in regular clean-upeorts. It is these highly-engaged volunteers who can help the city respondquickly to new grati and then monitor clean-up areas in the days and

weeks that follow—both of which are crucial to preventing further tagging.Recognizing and thanking these volunteers for all that they do to makethis initiative an ongoing success can encourage further help and support.




o recognize volunteers for Grati Busters, consider sending thank youletters and/or providing information on the impact of the overall eort(e.g., before/after photos, impact metrics) to those who volunteered, as

well as suggestions on how to stay involved in ghting grati. Volunteerrecognition events oer mayors’ oces the opportunity to publicize theinitiative’s impact, amplify the message that grati will not be tolerated,and make a call to action for citizens to help by reporting grati as soonas they see it.

OPTIONAL ELEMENTSOPTIONAL ELEMENTS

Many cities have found that when grati-prone areas are covered withmurals painted by the community, the murals are rarely defaced. Suchmurals are typically done with paintbrush rather than spraypaint, todierentiate them from grati and make it easier for the community toparticipate.Tese murals are often done by local artists or schoolchildrenand portray images that speak to the shared history, hopes, fears, andcultural identity of neighborhood residents. Tis not only helps to preventgrati but also gives the neighborhood more aesthetic character and tendsto increase residents’ sense of pride in the place they live.4 1

4 http://www.graftihurts.org/pd/mural.pd

In some cities, residents who want to report grati may have diculty nding a city website or locating the correct reporting form, and/or be puto by the need to print and mail in the report. One approach to overcomethese barriers is to include grati reporting in the city’s 311 line (if thecity has one). Alternatively, the city can arrange to receive text and imagesfrom residents’ cell phones, and encourage citizens to send in photos of grati – along with the address(es) of that grati – from their phones.

Tis would provide the city with real-time reporting information, as wellas a visual documentation of the grati. Cities could also consider usingsocial media and/or online mapping technology to help identify and track locations where grati is present and in need of cleanup.

make graFFiti reporting quick and easy

organize community muraLs

(recognizing voLunteers continued)




o access grati removal supplies, many cities or local partners haveset up public paint banks where community-based organizations cancheck out paint and other grati removal supplies for volunteers doing

grati cleanup. Te supplies can be provided by the city or donated by individuals and businesses that have extra paint they would otherwisethrow away. Borrowers from the bank can be limited to community-basedorganizations or expanded to include individuals as well. o track impactand ensure proper use of the supplies, the paint bank should document –each time supplies are checked out – the location of the grati, a pictureof the grati beforehand, the square feet of grati removed, and a pictureof the grati-free surface afterwards.

set up a “paint Bank ”

GRAFFITI BUSTERS IN ACTIONGRAFFITI BUSTERS IN ACTION

In Phoenix, Grati Busters is an umbrella program that includes a variety of initiatives designed to mobilize community members in grati eradicationand other neighborhood beautication activities. A major component of this is the “Blight Busters” program, in which volunteers attend a specialtraining and are taught how to use paint sprayers, utilize GPS-enabledcameras to track grati, and recognize and report gang-related grati totheir local police precinct. o equip volunteers and community groups withthe right tools for grati removal, the city oers a tool-lending program in

which volunteers may borrow tools and supplies to help implement theirclean-up eorts. As of July 2011, over 1,700 grati-removal projects hadbeen completed by 128 volunteers. In addition, the City of Phoenix hasdonated almost 9,000 gallons of paint to support community-led grati-removal eorts.




RESOURCES

• Grati Hurts is a prominent national anti-grati educational

organization: http://www.gratihurts.org/. Its website contains:

o Facts about the problems grati causes

o ips on preventing grati

o Anti-grati lessons for each grade level

o Suggestions on how to establish anti-grati laws and

work with police

o Eective methods of removal

o Best practice approaches to community organizing on

the issue

o An annual grant program to help fund cities’ anti-

grati eorts

• NoGraf Network and Residents Against Grati Everywhere each

provide a variety of additional information about combating grati.Visit: http://www.nograti.com/ and http://bit.ly/nPu1uz respectively.

• Te National Crime Prevention Council oers further facts and gures

about the harm caused by grati, the benets of grati prevention,

and how to make prevention eective. Visit: http://bit.ly/kVBiAz.

• Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitors Center stewards a long-running

and well-known community mural program in San Francisco’s MissionDistrict, a gang-ridden section of the city that has long struggled with

grati but where the community murals are frequently left untouched.

Visit: http://www.precitaeyes.org/ .

RESOURCES

inFormation




• Many suppliers of grati removal materials can be found online on TomasNet:

http://bit.ly/g6CidY . Further, a wide variety of grati-cleaning supplies can

be found on the web by searching for “grati removal supplies” or “grati

removal kit.”

• Keep America Beautiful (http://www.kab.org/) has local aliates in most cities

that run similar events for cleaning up litter, tapping a volunteer population

that is already engaged in beautication. Some aliates already run grati

clean-up eorts and many will be aware of Grati Hurts as another Keep

America Beautiful initiative. Keep America Beautiful also runs two grants

programs, one for aliates and one for non-aliates, which might be able to

provide funding – for more information, visit: http://bit.ly/tI9K .

• Te local Boys and Girls Clubs of America are another set of potential

partners, as the national organization has made anti-grati education one of

its priorities. Visit: http://www.bgca.org/.

potentiaL partners

• For an example of the legal language used for obtaining permission

to remove grati from private property, see New York City’s “Forever

Grati Free” form, which the city provides both as a mail-in PDF and

also for submission online: http://bit.ly/gCgPUW .

• For more information about the Grati Busters program in Phoenix,

Arizona, visit: http://1.usa.gov/nPdQ65.

modeLs




123

Surface TypeRemoval of Spray Paint and Similar

Materials (markers, shoe polish, lip stick,

stencils, etc.) Aluminum Siding,Fiberglass

Paint remover (sparingly); rinse with water

Glass Razor blade to scrape o; can also use paint thinner

Masonry (includes brick,marble, stone, tile, granite,and concrete)

Power washing with low pressure; sand and or soda blasting(may create a shadow); paint remover or chemical gratiremover/solvent applied with brush and rinse with water;paint over

Historic Masonry or Other

Valuable Structures

Seek out a professional; get the National Park Service Brief

on removing grati from historic masonry Metal Paint thinner or chemical grati remover/solvent and rub

with steel wool or sandpaper and rinse; power washing; paintover

Pavement Chemical remover and power washing; soda blasting

Street Signs Chemical remover (make sure it does not remove reectivecoating)

Stucco Paint remover/chemical remover and rinse with pressure wash; paint over

Utility Boxes Chemical remover with cloth or scrubberVinyl Siding Chemical solvents sparingly as they may remove the vinyl

coating; repaint with primer rst

Wood On painted, unweathered wood can try mineral spirits;power washing with low pressure; sanding; repainting

Etching Etching may be repairable on some glass (seek out aprofessional); replace glass

Adhesives Scrape away as much of the adhesive as possible; use nailpolish remover or acetone-based cleaner to remove remaining

residue. Be aware that acetone-based solvents can softenplastics

4 As shown at http://www.gratihurts.org/rapidremoval/removal.jsp#removal_chart

removaL techniques: surFace type and

recommended approach4




SPECIAL THANKS

We’d like to thank the ollowing cities:

• City of New York, New York for their insight and expertise.• City of Phoenix, Arizona for their valuable lessons learned.

SPECIAL THANKS



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Service, which equips mayors with high-impact service strategies to addresspressing local challenges, funded with generous support from BloombergPhilanthropies.

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Graffiti Busters