As the broken-window theory has borne out again and again, graffiti is often the first step along a short road to perceived, then general, lawlessness in a community.  To ensure that your community does not slip into lawlessness, it is vital that you follow some tried and true methods for keeping unwanted graffiti out of your community.  Learn about these best practices and resources from across the Knowledge Network:

• The graffiti topic page hosts a range of graffiti-related documents and serves as a clearing house for discussions relating to graffiti in the community.
• Read “Graffiti Removal Program” to review Santa Ana, California’s community-driven program for keeping the streets free of graffiti.
• Learn about how Bell, California is challenging graffiti with social media in “Bell, California, Launches Graffiti Reporting App”.
• For a codified ordinance regarding graffiti implement possession, check out Washoe County, Nevada’s graffiti ordinance.
• For an inspired description of how the burden of keeping a community free of graffiti is for all to share, review Steve Cantrell’s article “Graffiti Abatement is Everyone's Responsibility!”

I hope that these articles will help you keep graffiti and other related crimes out of your community.  If you have any lessons that will help out your fellow managers, feel free to share them in the comment section below.

Aloha,

James Davidson

ICMA's Knowledge Network Intern

jdavidson@icma.org