It sits on benches, marks fences and adorns empty wall space throughout Eugene, only to be cleaned or covered within hours. But the biggest problem with graffiti is not what it stains or where it appears: it is the cost and manpower required to clean it.
In response to the crime’s continued prominence, the Department of Public Safety and the Eugene Police Department cross-reference graffiti reports during ongoing investigations and use a task force, a hot line and new cleaning supplies to handle Eugene’s two graffiti “hot spots” — the campus and Downtown areas.
“About one percent of cases involve gang members from other states,” EPD Detective Julie Smith said. “But for the most part, they’re just straight taggers.”
In 2002, EPD reported 1,391 instances of graffiti and the City of Eugene Public Works Department reported an average of 200 graffiti abatement calls a month. Since the first of the year, DPS has received more than 38 graffiti reports on and around campus, which Smith said is most likely due to drier weather conditions.
“We see more incidents when paint is less likely to run due to rain,” she said.
Since July, University Facilities Services has spent approximately $3,031 on graffiti clean-up out of about $13,000 in total vandalism costs.
“It’s a very expensive problem,” University Facilities Services spokesman Tim King said.
University junior Tom Harder said he appreciates artistic efforts made by taggers, but he agrees with officials when it comes to those who just want to get their names out there.
“It’s dirty, and it pollutes the city everywhere,” he said.
Harder did say, however, that he is aware of the beauty that graffiti can bring to cities, having had a friend who got paid to paint murals on buildings in Colorado.
“I consider it an extreme sport — a leisurely activity,” he added.
Though typically associated with spray paint, Smith said graffiti consists of markings made with anything from permanent markers and bingo pens to acid etching techniques. And although local stores sell spray paint for only a couple of dollars a can, Smith said young shoplifters are occasionally caught with such tagging essentials.
In response to local concerns and related crimes, EPD established the Graffiti Task Force a year ago to help reduce incidents citywide. The task force — which includes active reporting and prevention from the city of Eugene, the Public Works department, business owners and community members — works with correction offices and the courts to determine more appropriate sentences for suspects who are apprehended as well as restitution for victims, Smith said. One of the biggest motivations for immediate response is to prevent other individuals from adding to the initial artwork.
“Before we know it, the whole wall is covered,” Smith said of past incidents.
In order to provide more incentive for community members to report graffiti, EPD offers a 24-hour hotline and a possible cash reward — typically about $50 — for tips that lead to arrests, Smith said. Although they don’t offer money, DPS and Facilities Services have purchased newer, more efficient cleaning materials to handle campus graffiti.
And for Dale Fish, a Facilities Services employee hired to quickly respond to campus maintenance calls, the environmentally safe cleaning solutions make his day more breathable.
“We’ve seen a small rise in incidents since Christmas, and this product makes my job a lot easier,” he said.
To help the city and local businesses with the costs of graffiti abatement, Forrest Paint Company donates buckets of paint — in universal “battleship gray” — to the cause. Despite local generosity toward covering up the problem, Graffiti Task Force member and Downtown property owner John Brown said he would rather see more untainted wall-space as opposed to unattractive gray spots on buildings citywide.
As part of a Rotary Club of Eugene project implemented three years ago, the Public Works department used a grant to create graffiti art walls in Eugene to provide designated outlets for artists. Brown, a Rotary Club member, said the walls are no longer implemented because they drew more graffiti to adjacent buildings than to the walls.
“To taggers, it’s a form of expression,” he added. “But to the community, it’s a game.”
University junior Jake Haworth said he remembers using the walls but doesn’t recall there being an excessive amount of art on neighboring buildings. Having been perfecting his graffiti skills since he was 14, Haworth said it takes dedication and a lot of practice to become impressive, which he said explains the large number of hurried or sloppy tags made by amateurs.
“Graffiti means a lot to the people who do it,” he said. “It’s not done to fuck society over — they’re just walls. And sometimes it’s really nice to look at.”