San Luis to crack down on graffiti, damages

SAN LUIS, Ariz. - After considering the high cost it represents for the city, the city council will take on strong measures against graffiti, including creating a reward system for those who provide information.

“If you drive through San Luis, almost every stop sign has graffiti. We are replacing 10 or more signs a week. They are very expensive and cost between $25 and $85. We estimate our loss at $20,000 a year in replacement costs,” said Jeff Philpot, acting city manager.

Property damage due to graffiti has skyrocketed in the past six months.

“With the city ordinance established in 2005, the city began winning the battle against graffiti, but I don’t know what has changed in the last six months to cause an increase,” he explained.

Graffiti is not the only problem. Traffic signs are being "damaged, pulled down or stolen. Some of the signs cost as much as $65 and we have had to replace them twice because the way in which the signs are made doesn’t allow for cleanup. If you try to remove the graffiti, you damage the sign and then the sign becomes a safety risk,” Philpot said.

Philpot explained that before implementing any measure to impose fines or prosecuting guilty parties, the city will ask San Luis residents to help prevent graffiti and damage to city property.

“We are asking everyone to report anyone doing graffiti. We depend on residents to help stop damage to city property and crime,” Philpot said.

He said reports can be made by calling 627-8881. Their efforts to stop graffiti includes a graffiti hotline that could lead to arrests or proceedings against responsible parties, he said.

As far as rewards, he said that proposal will go before the board this summer. His proposal includes $10 to $500 rewards according to the severity of the case and damages to city property.

The ordinance punishing graffiti is under revision and goes before the council to approve a fine increase since few people in San Luis are charged with it, “but given the recent increase in incidents that are beyond graffiti and now include theft and removal of traffic signs, that is dangerous and will not be accepted” Philpot said.

He pointed out that the fine for damages higher than $250 and depending on the severity, it could be classified as a felony.

In addition to the prevention campaign, Philpot announced they will implement inspections to businesses that sell spray paint and other instruments used in graffiti, to ensure they are complying with the ordinance that requires that businesses sell some items only to those with a permit.

“We hope that the combination of rewards, aggressive processing, notifying businesses and asking for community support will help reduce the number of graffiti incidents we have,” he said.