Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Fight Graffiti in Berkeley

The City of Berkeley is committed to a clean and safe environment for residents, visitors and businesses. All acts of vandalism, including graffiti, are a sign of neglect. Experience has shown that when graffiti is not removed immediately, more follows. Quick reporting and eradication is the best anti-graffiti strategy.

The City works with private property owners, businesses, and residents to prevent and eliminate graffiti wherever it appears. That includes:

* Alerting private property owners to graffiti,
* Police surveillance and enforcement,
* Prevention and intervention programs, and
* Using public employees and private contractors to paint out graffiti on public buildings, utility poles and boxes, sidewalks and streets, and in parks.

What to do when you see graffiti

Preventing and cleaning graffiti is a community effort, and it is only by working together that we can keep Berkeley clean and safe. Residents can take the following steps to keep Berkeley graffiti-free:

* If you see graffiti on public property such as mail boxes, street signs, utility boxes, streets or parks, call the Public Works Department: 981- 6620

* If you see graffiti on private property, report it to Code Enforcement: 981-CITY

* If you see graffiti in progress, call the police non-emergency line: 981- 5900

* If you would like to organize a graffiti clean-up, call Neighborhood Services: 981-7071

* When reporting graffiti, you can help us by giving us a description of the location and the tag. Take a picture of it, if you can.

Gang graffiti and hate graffiti are especially offensive. They are associated with violence and are the City’s highest priority. Please call us immediately if you see hate or gang graffiti in Berkeley.

Click here to read about Private Property Prevention and Enforcement

Click here to read about Public Property

Click here to read about Finding and Punishing Graffiti Vandals

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