I OFTEN WONDER why we miss seeing things that are right in front of our faces. Are we simply not paying attention, or just in a daze most days?
A case in point is a recent incident of graffiti at the Royal Theatre located in downtown Victoria, British Columbia. What the story doesn’t point out is that the tag is a direct insult to the Victoria Police Department. It reads, “VicPD is a joke.”
Graffiti has been etched into our history for thousands of years, and it’s not likely to be erased or painted over anytime soon. Is there a slim possibility that both the City of Victoria and the Victoria Police Department might be missing something? An opportunity, perhaps.
The City of Victoria posts that graffiti “impacts the look and feel of our city. It is any writing, etching, drawing or symbol applied to any public or private property without the owner’s consent. Graffiti is a form of vandalism and a crime that detracts from Victoria’s image for residents and visitors.”
The Victoria Police Department doesn’t seem to offer any type of program or address it on their website under Crime Prevention, so it would seem that graffiti has been left up to the municipality to address. Of course, VicPD would investigate, as they are doing with a recent rash of incidents and lay charges if the culprits are apprehended.
I was an integral part of a Graffiti Task Force that was established in Red Deer, Alberta, more than a decade ago. It was a big problem there, just as it is in most large cities in Canada. At the time, our task force established a Graffiti Abatement Strategy. I’ll steal what has now become a standard police response and one we knew at the time: “We’ll never arrest our way out of this problem.” Correct, so what’s the solution?
Let’s consider a few alternatives and give some consideration to municipal leaders and police services embracing creativity and ingenuity, as our task force did many years ago. You can write bylaws, hire more enforcement personnel and paint the town white, but the results are going to be like most concrete walls we walk past every day of our lives and don’t blink an eye — mundane at best.
Back in the day, I got to know a few of the most prolific graffiti artists in Red Deer, and engaged them with the prospect of some legitimate work whereby their extreme skills could be used to beautify downtown, not destroy it. The initiative was called Art Alley, and I managed the program with the support of the City and the Downtown Business Association over five summers. These artists are now successful in their own right and are creating stunning paintings and murals that everyone can enjoy.
Our task force was also instrumental in developing a database and began sharing prominent graffiti tags with the Calgary Police Service (CPS). At the time, CPS had a dedicated police officer whom I’d met at a Graffiti Conference in Edmonton. We knew that many prolific offenders were not simply operating in one municipality; they were transient and wanted their work noticed. It wasn’t long before we were connecting the dots and identifying some offenders throughout the region.
It’s no big secret that all levels of government get caught up in their own bureaucracy, and this includes police services. When we start adding up the costs of cleaning up graffiti in our cities and the time it takes to investigate these crimes, would it not make sense to invest more in local artists and mentor those who may be rappelling down our walls to vandalize property? Personally and professionally, I’ll always opt for creative solutions and use some ingenuity.