Police look to identify crews leaving unwanted graffiti
Gilroy – A new graffiti tagging crew has moved into town leaving their unwanted marks everywhere, from the top of Mount Madonna to Saint Louise Regional Hospital and on the walls and railroad crossing signals in between. Now, police are trying to identify the vandals and put an end to recent surge in graffiti blight.
“We’ve been hit pretty hard lately,” said Angela Locke-Paddon, a community service officer in charge of graffiti abatement. “Usually I’m pretty good about being in the ($20,000) budget (for removal). I think this year I’m going to be short.” The cost of abatement soared to $4,931 in March. In April, the bill was about $4,000, up tenfold from $400 in January.
“It comes and goes, we just have to keep a handle on it,” she said. “A lot of people will come up to me and say, ‘There’s no graffiti in Gilroy.’ That’s just because you’re not seeing it because we’re getting it off so fast. I’m finding graffiti every day.”
Tagging is often a faceless crime in the night. Usually there are few witnesses, and fewer arrests. And the victims: the business and property owners hit and the community members who see it every day. City ordinance requires the removal of the tagging within 48 hours – at the cost of the property owner.
Police recommend businesses put up security cameras and additional lighting to deter vandals from tagging.
“Graffiti will attract other crime. It will attract more graffiti,” she explained. “I tell business owners people aren’t going to come to your business if there’s graffiti there. It instills fear.”
Locke-Paddon removes as much graffiti from city property as she can. The back of her patrol car is a graffiti artists dream – loaded with cans of spray paint and solvents.
While 75 percent of the tagging in Gilroy are not gang-related, sometimes the tagging crews will integrate with gang members and tag together.
“It’s almost taking it to the next level so it’s good to know who these guys are,” she said.
Every day Locke-Paddon photographs new graffiti and shows it to the police department’s Anti-Crime Team so they can familiarize themselves with the markings.
She and ACT investigators can interpret whether there is a rise in tension on the streets by rival gangs from the graffiti along the walls, soundwalls, and alleyways of the city.
Thursday morning she had 10 new sites of new tagging to photograph and remove when a call came in of a major tagging at 8787 Monterey Road next to the Lilly Garden Apartments in north Gilroy.
“The faster we can get it down, it defeats the purpose,” she said.
Vandals marked two walls of an abandoned building with tags stretching 10-feet by 7-feet across.
The new tagging crew has struck again overnight.
“Now I know they’re from around here,” Locke-Paddon said. Initially, she was uncertain whether they were vandals passing through Gilroy, but their tags along 10th Street railroad posts hinted they were a local crew.
“They’re new because they are really trying to get their names out there,” she said.
Within two hours Tim Collins, owner of Personal Impressions was out painting over the graffiti.
“It’s a major deterrent when we’re on it like we are,” he said. “These guys are trying to be noticed. I haven’t seen tagging like this on Monterey Street before. This must have been a charge for these guys. They’re fast. They’re like squirrels in the night.”
Collins estimated he is called out about three times a week to clean up tagging.
The city is trying to create consistency in the clean up – dark browns on fences to make it easier for people to paint over quickly, and gray on light posts.
Before the department had Wipe Out Watch volunteers, Collins was called to cover up tags about 15 times a day, he said.
The goal is to remove gang-related graffiti, tagging near schools, and graffiti in high traffic areas as soon as possible.
In the world of graffiti taggers nothing is sacred. Not even churches.
South Valley Community Church was hit in December along with several nearby businesses totaling several thousand dollars worth of damage.
“Churches are supposed to be off limits. So when SVC got hit I was really surprised,” Locke-Paddon said.
Murals tend to be left alone, so they are painting a mural June 3 under the bridge along Santa Teresa Boulevard and Third Street to deter tagging.
She urges people to call as soon as they seen graffiti – no matter how small.
“I don’t want people to be complacent about graffiti,” she said. “I want Gilroy to be a nice place. I live here. I kind of take it personally.”
Report graffiti to the 24-hour line at 846-0395.
To report graffiti out of the county, call Lisa Rose at 441-4331.
