I have worked on graffiti issues for more than six years. I have removed hundreds of tags in my neighborhood and been involved in the city's efforts to respond to the problem. Again, the courts are the weak link in the chain of events. There are taggers that have done hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage- like the acid etching of bus shelter glass that must be replaced. But as yet multiple offenses cannot be aggregated without eyewitness proof of each individual tag. So the weight of the city wide damage is not included in the sentencing. The vast majority of graffiti I have seen is not gang graffiti. Taggers are basically writing a signature of their tag name and try to make their tag special with fat letters, symbols, and different spray techniques. Almost all gang graffiti is crude, single lined spray painting with the name of the gang and or its symbol. Native Mob, Sur 13, Gangster disciples with a star symbol, etc., don't look like tagger graffiti. I have seen a lot of gang graffiti in my Park District. And we really don't want to see crossed out gang graffiti- which is indicative of a turf battle. Remove it AS FAST AS YOU CAN For all graffiti- the longer it stays up the faster it spreads. All list members can help. If you see it report it online on the city website. _http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/contact/email-form-graffiti.asp_ (http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/contact/email-form-graffiti.asp) Getting it all reported is a necessary first step. (part 1) Thanks, Scott Vreeland Seward REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list.
2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
