Crackdown helps blot out some graffitiBy David Slade (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Grace Beahm Graffiti mars the brick wall surrounding Second Presbyterian Church in downtown Charleston. Historic sites, churches, homes and businesses — it seems none are immune to graffiti, but Charleston police have been making arrests and say complaints to a graffiti hot line have dropped significantly. The more than 70 percent decline in complaints since December is little solace to the victims, however, particularly when vandals decide to deface a historic structure, and the paint can't simply be painted over or pressure-washed off. At Second Presbyterian Church on Meeting Street, an early 19th-century brick wall recently was marred with the childish scribbles of a vandal who used black spray paint. "Obviously, we don't want to do something that would affect the structural integrity of the mortar," Spence Roddey, head of the church's property committee, said. "The police don't have experience in dealing with historic brick structures, and we don't want to go out with a pressure-washer and blow a hole in it." Earlier this week, a 17th-century overseer's cabin at McLeod Plantation on James Island was hit by a vandal. More commonly, vandals have been defacing vacant downtown storefronts and boarded-up houses,and walls of commercial buildings. The city launched an anti-graffiti initiative in May 2007, and Mayor Joe Riley announced then that the city would "remove every piece of graffiti that these vandals place in our community." However, the police department does not have the authority to remove graffiti on private property without the permission of the property owner and in some cases does, not have the necessary equipment. The department has one employee assigned to graffiti abatement and a graffiti hot line that accepts complaints on an answering machine. "Sometimes the (property) owners are easy to locate, sometimes they are not," said Charleston police Cpl. Ed Robinson with the Livability Court Unit. "Sometimes the graffiti is not something we would handle, like it's on a second floor and we'd need scaffolding." There are many second-story walls above businesses that have been vandalized on Upper King Street. If city property is vandalized, police can go out with paint or a pressure washer. Charles Francis, spokesman for the Charleston Police Department, said perhaps 10 percent of the graffiti is gang-related. He said the city has made dozens of arrests in the past year and a half but did not know what sort of sentences those found guilty received. State law provides for potential jail time, he said. "The vast majority (of those arrested) have been white males from about 17 years old to their upper 20s," Robinson said. "A number of them were college students." Complaints to the graffiti hot line peaked at 294 in December and have hovered between 70 and 85 for the past four months. The graffiti hot line number is 958-1500. Reach David Slade at 937-5552 or dslade@postandcourier.com. |
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Comments
This article has 14 comment(s)
Posted by moonpie on August 2, 2008 at 8:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I have the necessary equipment!
Posted by drp7773 on August 2, 2008 at 9:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sounds like white trash to me, if they live at home the parents should pay for the cleanup and they should be able to spray all this paint on the parents house. When they get done break their hands every 6 weeks until they turn 30 maybe they will grow up by then.
Posted by americanheretic on August 2, 2008 at 10:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There is no Anti-Graffiti Initiative,just excuses.Bend over everybody it will just get worse!
Posted by RW on August 2, 2008 at 10:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How about cutting the arms off the little bastards when you catch them!
Posted by KidYendor on August 2, 2008 at 10:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The sentence should be removing a finger surgically when surveillance video captures these hoodlums on tape. I can hear it now: "Joe why did you lose your finger?" "A graffiti arrest. "
Posted by drp7773 on August 2, 2008 at 10:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
RW and Kid,
Both options are acceptable as long as it is mandatory that they tape it and show the film on the news each night for a week so all the other trash will see what happens when your stupid.
Posted by woodrob12 on August 2, 2008 at 11:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Kid and RW, it's nice to know the Taliban is alive and well here in SC.
Posted by iceman1978 on August 2, 2008 at 11:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
First offense: 100 hours community service, $250 fine. Make then clean up their mess, do yardwork along highway medians, or have them pick up trash along the expressway.
Second offense: 250 hours community service, $750 fine.
Third offense: Same as above, but add 30 days jail time and 90 days probation.
Posted by grannyofsix on August 2, 2008 at 2:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
When the punks are caught make them stand naked and paint graffiti on the all over not one inch of skin exposed and make sure the only way the can remove it is with gas or turpentine
Posted by RW on August 2, 2008 at 3:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
woodrob12,
Obviously it's not your property that's being damaged! I have got a an idea.Why dont you adopt the little angels when they find them and let them "tag" your property? Naw...liberals become the Gestapo when bad things happen to them..forget it!
p.s The Taliban...they are currently getting their asses kicked by our brave and heroic troops. I'd actually be in favor of treating them like the Taliban! ...Pinko!
Posted by palmettoruckus on August 2, 2008 at 9 p.m. (Suggest removal)
someone tagged the 2nd story corner of the old Terrace and Millenium Music building either Wednesday or Thursday. Someona also tagged the parking lot behind Charleston CVB, but that was painted over already.
Posted by beenya_toolong on August 3, 2008 at 10:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm sure they are the same kids with Ohio license plates who ride around in those little cars with tinted windows and over-sized chrome exhaust pipes. No self-respecting Charlestonian would dare deface a historic building. Punishment should be severe.
Posted by RW on August 3, 2008 at 6:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
These little cretins that do things like this cant help it! With IQ's that hover around 55 they dont know right from wrong! So they only viable option is to find them, get a rope and high Carolina Pine.
Posted by bpwnz on August 15, 2008 at 12:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Iceman, currently first offense is $1048.
The picture shown in this article is terrible, there are people out there making our streets look nicer, those that know what buildings can be painted with little community reaction, like old abandoned eyesores that dot the peninsula. Then there are people like whoever painted this, who are simply retarded.