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Graffiti Wipe-Out

Graffiti is a serious crime that impacts all members of a community.  In Grande Prairie, gang graffiti is almost nonexistent; rather, most graffiti done in the city is the work of "taggers" - youth or young adults, often embedded deeply in the tagger subculture, who do this for street recognition.  Each tagger has a unique mark (tag) that they leave behind, which is designed to be recognizable as belonging to them. The higher the visibility of these tags, or the more dangerous the location they're in, the more infamy they earn for their owner.


Communities have the power to stop these "artists".  Statistically speaking, if graffiti is cleaned up two weeks after being done, it is almost guaranteed that it will be replaced soon thereafter.  However, if it is cleaned up within 24 hours, there is only a 10% chance that it will reappear. If a tagger's work is made difficult, they will soon give up.


This is where a special Graffiti Wipe-Out launch event, United Way's "Day of Caring", came into play. This all-day event, which took place on 23 June 2007, was brought into existence by a collaboration between Community Action on Crime Prevention, Communities In Bloom, the Grande Prairie Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Association, United Way Grande Prairie, and the RCMP, and helped to demonstrate the difference that a dedicated community can make in the fight against graffiti.  More than two dozen volunteers showed up to help clean up more than a dozen locations within the city, and many more businesses devoted the day to their own graffiti clean-up!


Community Action on Crime Prevention's Graffiti Wipe-Out Idea Book is designed as a tool to help people take the initiative to clean up graffiti in their area and deter the taggers responsible.  Resources available include "Reducing Graffiti" posters, graffiti removal kits, and a detailed chart listing the most effective ways to clean graffiti from various surfaces.  Community Action on Crime Prevention would like to thank The UPS Store, who designed the graphics and produced this book.


To download a copy of the Idea Book, please click the link below. For more information on the program, contact Community Action on Crime Prevention at (780) 882-7813 or crimeprevention@cityofgp.com.


Graffiti Wipe-Out Idea Book