Stakeouts aim to curb graffiti

By Brent Begin
Examiner Staff Writer 3/18/09

San Francisco officials say they have seen an increase in complaints about graffiti. Examiner file photo SAN FRANCISCO – Police are turning to stakeouts in order to nab graffiti vandals.

The City has seen an uptick in complaints about graffiti, specifically to the 311 call center.

A series of stake-out operations are planned between the California Highway Patrol and the Police Department. The law enforcement agencies are targeting overpasses and freeway signs after a series of bold vandalism incidents on Highway 101.

“It’s costing The City millions,” said Mohammed Nuru, the Department of Public Works deputy director, who oversees graffiti cleanup for The City. “They’re using climbing gear. They’re sophisticated and climbing up sheer surfaces.”

After averaging about 1,400 calls a month, that number climbed in December to more than 3,000. Those calls have continued to roll in at a steady pace, and city officials want to catch the vandals in the act.

Officer Christopher Putz of the San Francisco Police Department’s graffiti unit said he believes the increase is not in graffiti incidents, but in citizen reporting of the vandalism.

Nuru is heading a graffiti task force, which is lobbying to pass even stricter policies regarding graffiti in upcoming months, including a law prohibiting spray-painted vehicles from parking in a residential area and creating a Superior Court position that deals strictly with vandalism cases.

Other cities have installed barbed wire around posts so they are more difficult to climb. Nuru said they hope to catch the recent vandals before turning San Francisco into a “prison yard.”

The hardest-hit areas are the Financial District, SoMa, the Mission and Chinatown, according to authorities. Some neighborhood advocates said they have not noticed the increase.

“I haven’t seen a huge difference than what it was,” said Erick Arguello, who heads the Lower 24th Street Merchant and Neighborhood Association. “It comes and goes, just like crime.”

Keith Goldstein, who heads the Potrero Hill Merchants Association, said he recently followed up on a complaint about graffiti, but didn’t find an increase in his neighborhood.

City officials are also looking to boost the reward amount for information about graffiti vandals.

The City’s Graffiti Rewards Fund typically offers residents $250 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of suspects. However, the reward has been boosted to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those who took part in defacing highway signs last weekend on southbound Highway 101 at Third and Bayshore streets.

To apply for the reward, visit www.sfgov.org/dpw or call 311.

Surge in graffiti complaints

From July to November, graffiti complaints to The City’s 311 call center averaged about 1,400 per month.

Month Complaints
December 3,066
January 3,396
February 2,668
Through March 17 1,681

Source: Department of Public Works

bbegin@sfexaminer.com