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As many of you may have noticed with the spring warmth in the air, the
graffiti artists have come out in increasing numbers and have been targeting
businesses, especially those along the Lake St. corridor. In just the last
week, the damage they have created is estimated to be over $70,000. As an
owner of some of the buildings that have been hit, I am speaking from
personal experience.
In my opinion, it does not take rocket science policing to crack down on
these vandals. The police dept. is always complaining about there being an
inadequate number of policemen/women in the city to focus on this issue.
Though I disagree, I suggest that we eliminate the SAFE program since I
strongly believe that it is ineffective and a waste of taxpayers money. I
suggest that we shift the majority of the funds from the SAFE program to hire
more qualified cops to deal with the graffiti issue along with others. The
problem does not stop with the police. I am aware that the police have
caught many of these vandals, however there are judges in Hennepin County who
believe that their vandalism is an expression of art. It is these judges who
are lenient on the sentencing of the vandals, therefore are not helping
improve the graffiti problem. Maybe if these judges had the artists over to
their home to do some art, they may start to feel differently.
For those who don't know, it is the landlord's financial responsibility to
remove the graffiti from the building. There are some programs in place
through the city in which the landlord pays them for graffiti removal
throughout the year. Nevertheless, in the end it is the taxpayers money that
is being used form removal. I think we would all agree that graffiti does
nothing to enhance the beauty of our city.
I think it should be mandatory that the court notify all graffiti victims
when a vandal is caught so that they may show up to the court hearing to
express their concerns pertaining to the issue.
Graffiti in the city is a big issue and it does affect all of us in some way
or another. I believe that the system needs to become more stringent and we
need leaders in the city who will implement this process so that future
vandals will think twice before making their mark. I'm tired of talk, let's
do something about it. These vandals need to pay the price for their
actions, the police need to work more actively in catching these vandals and
the judges need to enforce the laws more strictly. One other factor in this
equation are the prosecutors, who should be responsible for carrying out the
police charges and not be allowed to negotiate sentencing before consultation
with the victims.
Basim Sabri
Developer, south Mpls
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