Report Graffiti

Click to enlarge campaign poster

Certainly graffiti is nothing new to the Newman Park area. Every now and then gangs from north and south of our neighborhood use alley walls, signs, utility boxes and garage doors in our area in their "tagging wars".

Now the City of El Paso has launched a new program to reduce and eradicate this form of vandalism. Here is the press release:

The City of El Paso has launched a new public outreach campaign, “Make a Difference – Report Graffiti.”

The campaign helps residents and businesses recognize the toll that graffiti takes on the community and offers an opportunity to take action. Graffiti vandalism is a community issue and not just a law enforcement one. The new campaign strives to engage citizens, businesses and the media into helping to abate graffiti by reporting it or removing as soon as it is discovered.

Educational materials regarding this public outreach campaign are available online at www.elpasotexas.gov/graffiti/. Please share the information with your organization.

Residents may request graffiti removal by contacting the City’s Department of Transportation Anti-Graffiti Program at (915) 621-6789. The City does not charge for this service. Priority is given to graffiti noticeable from the street. Graffiti in progress should be reported to the El Paso Police Department at 9-1-1.

Newman Park Residents Share Concerns with Police

EP Police Neighborhood Relations Coordinator Leslie Canada makes a point as Commander Austin (center) and Officer Slack listen

Newman Park neighbors met yesterday with Central Commander Mark Austin, Officer Henry Slack and Leslie Canada, the Neighborhood Relations Coordinator with the police department. Residents discussed their concerns about recent vandalism, a case of arson, and new graffiti in the area.

Ms. Canada informed the group that the City is about to launch a new anti-graffiti awareness program and that the police will be doing anti-tagging education with 6 to 12 year olds.

The police trio recommended several actions neighbors can take now:

• Report tagging immediately even if it isn't on your property.
• Report suspicious activity - a youth with a backpack late at night, for example.
• Work with the Neighborhood Coalition and get ideas from other Associations.
• Report code violations.
• Report paper plates on cars that have been there for a long time.
• Ask the police to do a safety inspection of your home. You can get up to 20% off your house insurance this way.
• Take part in the HEAT program. You register your vehicle and ask police to stop and check it after a certain time at night.
• If you suspect that there is a stash house near you, report it.

Neighbors expressed their gratitude to Freeda Westmoreland who hosted the meeting in her home.

What Do Taggers Want To Be When They Grow Up?

PUBLIC UTILITY WORKERS!

They get to tag sidewalks, alley walls and streets and the paint lasts and lasts and lasts. Above is just what every homeowner wants - graffiti on their sidewalk.

Tagging Part 3: Tagging Crews and Competitions

You probably often wonder why anyone would risk his life by climbing out to a sign above a busy freeway just to tag the sign. You've also probably seen several instances of billboards that have been tagged. These are usually instances of tagging competitions. Much like computer games, the "warriors" seek to win a contest by gaining the most point. Numbers of tags and most especially tags done in dangerous places get the most points. Competitors or gangs agree on a neutral judge and get started. Remarkably, none of them sees this as property damage - they see it as a game.

Tagging crews often begin at late night parties. Gang members may first steal beer from a convenience store. "Beer runs" are just that: a member runs in and grabs a case of beer and runs out of the store. Often fueled by alcohol or other drugs, the taggers are set lose.

Do know that tagging is not limited to night-time. Tagging during the day is just as common. Check out this video of a reckless youth tagging an overpass above the 101 in Los Angeles.

Tagging Part 2: Profile of a Tagger

It was a surprise to me to learn that taggers can be much older than school age children. In fact, the gamut runs from pre-teen to 30-year olds. The average age is 19. Taggers come from every race, religion, social group, as well as from every socioeconomic status. They may have a responsible, full-time job. Also, tagging by females is on the rise.

They can be members of the military as gangs have now infiltrated our armed forces as a great place to learn combat and weapons skills.

Of course, you may be mostly interested in being able to discern whether your child is a tagger. Some indications that your child may be a tagger are:

Some indications that your child may be a tagger are:

1. Your child stays out until early morning or all night.
2. Your child frequently wears a large backpack or baggy pants.
3. Clothing may be paint-stained.
4. Packs and loose clothing can be used to hold paint cans or carry graffiti tools.
5. Your child carries tools used for etching glass, such as hole punches, rocks, glass cutters, screwdrivers, awls, metal scribes, or other sharp objects. (Your child may not be able to explain exactly why he/she has this in their possession.)
6. Your child has taken up the hobby of ink marking.
7. Your child has large quantities of magic markers, shoe polish containers, or other devices used for drawing.
8. Your child sleeps during the day and is active outdoors at night.
9. Your child has paint on the tips of his/her fingers.
10. Your child frequently has permanent marker stains on his/her hands.
11. Your child has graffiti magazines, flyers, a "piece" book, or other portfolio of tags.
12. Your child possesses large quantities of "my name is" stickers or other large stickers used for "sticker tagging."
13. Your child is in possession of graffiti paraphernalia, such as markers, etching tools, spray paint, bug spray, and starch cans. The bug spray cans are used to make tags that will only show up in the rain.
14. Your child is in the age group statistically associated with tagging: ages 12 to 18
(sometimes older).
15. Your child has graffiti displays or tags on clothing, binders, backpack, and the underside of the bill of their hat. Tags you see on the walls of your neighborhood are seen on your child’s walls, books, and clothing.
16. Your child is frequently deceitful about his/her activities.
17. Your child has quantities of paint in cans, but does not have the income to afford it.
18. Your child associates with other children with the traits described above.
19. Your child’s Internet web browser has bookmarks to graffiti advocate websites.
20. Your child has photographs of graffiti and tags on walls that look familiar to you.
21. Your child actively reads the alternate graffiti news group website.

They are also proud of their work as this short video of a tagging crew suggests:


Just go to You Tube for more tagging videos.

Tagging Part 1: We Are Surrounded by Gangs!

I had a meeting this morning with Leslie Canada, Officer Morales and Officer Chavez at Central Command about tagging and graffiti. I had asked to meet in order to learn more about the profile of the tagger, the meaning of the tags and more especially how it impacts our Newman Park neighborhood. What I found out I will spend a few days discussing.

One thing that I learned for sure is that, when any of us see tagging, we should report it to the police first and only and let them report it to Streets for cleaning. This way the police can gather evidence and evaluate patterns and may possibly head-off gang turf wars and violence.

The non-emergency number for the City of El Paso Police is 915-832-4400. If you see tagging in progress, call 911.

Our neighborhood is surrounded by various gangs. The tagging that we see in the Newman Park area is the work of various tagging crews usually for competitions or for practice. Different gangs will engage in competitions to see who can do the most tagging, tag in the most dangerous areas, and tag with the largest letters. Smaller letter tagging is a definite sign that the tagger is practicing.

The picture above was taken over a year ago. It is the wall of the McKee Mansion along Louisiana. You can see the gang tags (in different colors) for Central Cocha and X3 Caos. Gangs use tags to mark territory and to engage in territorial disputes.

Some of it may seem benign - but none of it is. Gangs are linked to the drug trade that has taken the lives of nearly 2,000 people in Juarez. Young lives are drawn into this life by virtue of neighborhood or need to survive. "Jumping" into a gang is dangerous initiation but not as life-threatening as "jumping" out.

More tomorrow.

Senseless Tagging

It's gone now. Street Services came and removed this graffiti and that across the street. The police came by before and took pictures. There is a stain on the sidewalk in front of the stonewall. The purple paint left a bluish-gray shadow in the runoff from the blast of the jets that removed the vandal's mark.

Tagging is so senseless. This particular act of vandalism across from our beloved Newman Park aroused anger and a sense of urgency to do something - whatever that something was. For me, it was just alerting police and the anti-graffiti people at the City.

The police told neighbors that this kind of tagging goes on between 2 and 5 in the morning. Who wants to do a neighborhood watch then? In exchanges of emails I asked whether the police could add some extra patrols. No response has come from our City's finest.

This corner is well lit at night by strong street lights. However, the illumination offered no deterrent. We could organize a neighborhood watch - but there is already one in place. It's hard to have vigilance when most of us except for a few restless souls are asleep. Even the restless ones toss and turn in bed or watch the blue tube glow.

Neighbors do care and do watch out for each other. One of our neighbors was recently visited by her schizophrenic sister. The sister went out for cigarettes and walked down the middle of the street thinking that she was taking pictures. Having no camera was an unimportant detail to her. Within minutes, firemen, an ambulance and the police were on the scene. Neighbors had paid attention, cared and called emergency services. There is no lack of caring especially in this neighborhood.

So what can be done about tagging? Call the police. Get Street Services to remove it ASAP after the police have made their report. Don't let any tagging linger. Don't give taggers or gangs of taggers any footholds. Stay vigilant when we can. Care. Really care for each other and the homes of each other and the neighborhood where we all live.

If there are other suggestions, I'd like to hear it.