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I agree that graffiti is a real problem for the City of Minneapolis and
we all need to pitch in and take care of it. I was at the Neighborhoods
USA (NUSA) Conference in Phoenix, Arizona last May (2000) and came
across a great program the the residents of the City of Phoenix had put
together. It was very simple but involved the work of various
residents, local businesses, the police dept. and others. Basically all
they did was paint over graffiti within hours of it being put up. This
had the immediate effect of slowing graffiti to less than 90% of what it
had been previous to them starting this program. The reason that
tagging is so popular is that others can see it and identify it. When
you take this away from them you take away their will to do it in the
long run. If any of you are interested in learning more about it I can
give you further contact information.
On another note, I would disagree with Mr. Sabri about getting rid of
the SAFE units. They are our only true connections between the
community and the police dept. We really do not have community policing
other than what the SAFE program offers us. The SAFE program has proven
its effectiveness time and time again and I really feel that we should
move to true "community policing" model. If we did, you would see much
happier police officers who interacted with residents, much less in the
way of misunderstandings between the community and the police dept.,
less police brutality and racial profiling etc...This all comes from
knowing and working side by side with those you serve.
*I would challenge Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton, all of our Council
Members, Chief Olsen and the Minneapolis Police Dept. to move towards
"true" community policing. Then and only then will we see a real change
in crime, community/police relations and a better level of well being
for all the citizens of Minneapolis.*
Until we do that though we must maintain the SAFE program, work to make
it bigger and better and continue to demand that our representatives
work towards true community policing. In the mean time, call your
friendly neighborhood SAFE team, stay involved and keep up the good work.
Respectful,
Matthew Dufresne
Central Neighborhood
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