Tag, You're It! BIA Crew Offers Assistance With Graffiti Removal There is any number of ideas out there on how to fight crime, but few have proven so successful as the strategy articulated by crime consultant George Kelling in his landmark book, Fixing Broken Windows. Using the now famous analogy of the ``broken window'' (a broken window leads to more broken windows which lead to graffiti, etc., creating an atmosphere conducive to criminal behavior), Kelling argued that by attacking quality-of-life crimes, such as

public drunkenness and aggressive panhandling, more serious crimes would be deterred. Cities such as New York and Tacoma, which have experimented with these ideas, have enjoyed impressive drops in crime

The unchecked accumulation of graffiti can be the first sign of community disintegration and disorder. It is vital to remove graffiti as soon as it appears! Although the responsibility for graffiti removal is that of individual property owners, the BIA offers advice and help.

The Local Development Council recommends the following actions for dealing with graffiti:

• Act quickly-most graffiti "artists" desire an audience, and they look for places where their "canvas"-private buildings or public common areas-remains undisturbed;

• Take photographs or make drawings of the graffiti; this helps police identify perpetrators, secure arrests and make convictions;

• Call "911" and request police presence;

• Use appropriate materials and techniques to remove graffiti without damaging your building;

BIA crews responsible for common area maintenance work daily to identify and remove graffiti from public areas within the 84-block district. Maintenance personnel will attempt to inform ratepayers or their agents of graffiti they notice on any properties within the BIA, and crews will remove graffiti as time and resources permit. Crews will not clean graffiti that cannot be reached from a standing position on the sidewalk.

For information about materials and techniques that can effectively (but safely) remove graffiti, contact BIA Maintenance Supervisor Jim Burgess.