When graffiti is not taken care of the neighborhood starts to deteriorate. Businesses find that customers stop coming and residents feel more fearful and less in charge of their own neighborhood, and property. Once a neighborhood looks uncared for, crime problems tend to increase. Graffiti has serious economic as well as psychological consequences in neighborhoods. Graffiti is a visual blight in our communities that has become a four billion dollar a year national problem. When graffiti shows up in neighborhoods, it communicates alarm. 

Casa Grande, AZ's (pop. 25,224) Police Department has a graffiti abatement program in place to assist property owners in eradicating graffiti. The program is a city-wide initiative focusing on the reduction of crime, fear, destruction, carelessness, and disorder as it pertains to graffiti. This program is offered free of charge and the primary goal is to remove or cover all graffiti within 48 hours of notification by coordinating efforts with our local juvenile and adult probation departments. 

Remember that the vandal's objective is to have others see his "tag" or "name". Vandals are drawn to walls that are not cleaned immediately because it means their graffiti will be up longer and will be seen by more people. By covering graffiti as soon as possible, you can prevent your property from becoming a "known" good site among vandals. Prompt removal of graffiti is an effective prevention tool. Studies have determined that if graffiti is removed within 24-48 hours, there is little recurrence as this is due to the fact that the offender will not have a chance to receive recognition by other taggers that see his work. 

Graffiti Prevention Tips:

• Encourage citizen reporting.
• Remove graffiti promptly-This is the most important deterrence. 
• Keep the Neighborhood clean-Keeping your neighborhood clean and neat shows that you take pride in your property and vandals are less likely to be attracted.
• Enforce anti-graffiti ordinances-The Casa Grande Police Department has made graffiti abatement a priority and surveys have shown that "getting caught" was the biggest fear of "taggers. 
• Educate the youth and public-Coordinate with local groups or school officials to incorporate graffiti education and prevention into their programs. Volunteer in one of the existing programs that are dedicated to stamping out graffiti such as Keep Casa Grande Beautiful or the Casa Grande Police Department's Volunteer Services. 

For more information about this Graffiti Abatement program. contact Lt. Steve Cantrell at 520-421-8711 ext. 603.  Please visit www.ci.casa-grande.az.us.