Virginia Vigil likes to call herself the “graffiti buster.”
The Santa Fe County commissioner realizes she and others are limited in how they can stem the tide of graffiti in the area. But that won’t stop them from trying.
All they need is for you to call the county’s graffiti hotline at (505) XXX-2721.
“We can go down there and (remove it), or the owner can remove it,” Vigil said.
This marks the second year in which residents and business people can use the graffiti hotline.
Information from the graffiti hotline goes to Gary Jaesin, the paint supervisor for the county’s graffiti removal program.
Jaesin works 20 hours a week but says he could easily fill a 40-hour week with all the illegal graffiti he must wash away or paint over.
Sheriff Greg Solano offers wide-ranging insight on graffiti.
Graffiti includes tagging, hip-hop, gang graffiti, etching and political graffiti.
“While graffiti in Santa Fe is not as bad as some areas and worse than others, it is a problem,” Solano said.
The Sheriff’s Office had 55 reports of graffiti last year. However, most graffiti goes unreported, he said.
“Santa Fe is really an average community when it comes to graffiti vandalism,” Solano said. “Now this may not make people feel better, and many may disagree because it always seems worse when it’s in your own back yard.”
Chances of catching graffiti vandals in the act are very remote, Solano and Vigil say.
Most graffiti is either spur-of-the-moment or well-planned. Vandals usually work in pairs or groups and have spotters to look out for witnesses, Solano said. Suspects use portable lighting and sometimes even walkie-talkies and cell phones to warn when someone is coming.
“The way we usually catch graffiti vandals is from tips or calls from residents,” the sheriff said. “Very seldom are we lucky enough to just drive up on a suspect.”
Graffiti vandals always have the same types of graffiti on their school notebooks, bedrooms, backpacks and even on their own walls surrounding their homes, Solano said. They often photograph and videotape their graffiti and display the photos in their bedrooms.
Graffiti is often a rite of passage for gang membership, Vigil said. But most graffiti is not gang-related, said Solano. Tagging, however, is.
A tag is the most basic writing of an artist’s name, in either spray paint or marker, Solano said. A graffiti writer’s tag is his or her personalized signature.
During World War II and for decades after, the phrase “Kilroy was here,” with accompanying illustration, was widespread around the world because of its use by American troops and its filtering into American popular culture.
Taggers want their graffiti to remain up for as long as possible, Solano said. So cleaning it up immediately forces taggers to go elsewhere to do their thing.
It might take several clean-ups, but if a graffiti vandal knows that each time he or she hits a wall, and it is cleaned up immediately, the person will move to other areas and eventually leave the wall alone.
“It is a game of will with the first one to say ‘uncle’ winning,” Solano said.
Most graffiti vandals are ages 14 to 21, he said.
Solano has sage advice for relatives of graffiti vandals: “Even when you report your own child or family member. We will work with you to correct the child’s behavior and can offer you assistance with your child — not just jail.”
Last month, Commissioner Harry Montoya held a town hall meeting to listen to residents’ concerns about graffiti. He brought Solano along to help answer questions.
“… They were grateful to know that Santa Fe County has an individual they can call when they see graffiti,” he said.
Vigil, working with the county’s Graffiti Task Force, hopes to bring Solano and other role models into schools to talk to youths and let them know graffiti is wrong.
“Many of these students don’t know graffiti is a crime,” she said.
Via:www.nmfreepress.com
