Do we have it in us to end graffiti? (June 24)
By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune
If one thing is certain in Madera and Madera County, it is that public officials and citizens have had it up to here (put your hand to your chin) with graffiti.
The more the Madera Redevelopment Agency — charged with rubbing out graffiti — tries to cover up the stains and scrawls the graffiti criminals leave behind, the more graffiti appears.
To some citizens, it seems nothing is being done, but that isn’t true.
The police have made more than 40 arrests the past fiscal year for graffiti.
The Redevelopment Agency continues to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on removal, sending paint crews out every day to get rid of graffiti.
The city has contracted with a Bay Area consultant who is at work forming groups to police neighborhoods, and the report is that there is no shortage of volunteers.
This consultant allegedly helped rid San Jose of graffiti in two years.
One thing San Jose had going for it was total law enforcement commitment to making the program work. That meant that once arrests were made, perpetrators were held accountable.
District Attorney Michael Keitz is working on ways to make this happen.
Getting rid of graffiti will take a community-wide effort, and it sounds like the community is behind it.
If the city and county aren’t behind it, it will take longer and cost more. And allowing graffiti to spread as it has will lead to a decline in Madera as a place to live and do business.
People don’t like to come to a city smeared with graffiti. They don’t like to buy homes or start business in such environments. It tells strangers that city has no reliable program of public safety, and that the citizens couldn’t care less about their communities. Are we that kind of place? Let’s hope not.
