Glendale fights graffiti crimes

The city of Glendale is using teenagers to fight back against graffiti crimes.

The Glendale Police Department, Glendale's city TV station Glendale 11 and the Glendale Mayor Youth Advisory Commission have joined forces on an anti-graffiti campaign.

The groups have come together to produce a public service announcement video featuring members of the Glendale MYAC, who are all high school students in Glendale.

To view the PSA video click here.

The campaign was developed to increase awareness from teen to teen that tagging is a serious crime, which impacts everyone in a community.

Over the past year, the Glendale Graffiti Busters have cleaned up 15,000 graffiti sites and Glendale Police has made over 52 arrests as a result of graffiti tagging.

On Wednesday, Mike Siebert of Glendale's Graffiti Removal Program was on the streets painting over several tagging sites.

In just a few seconds Siebert had gauged the wind, backed up his city truck, and covered up graffiti that covered an electrical box on 67^th Avenue.

"It's quick, just takes us a second," Siebert said. "But they're quick too. I wish we could stay ahead of (the taggers)."

That is where the city hopes their PSA message will come in.

"Prevention begins with educating teens and their parents about the impact of graffiti," said Laurie Berg Sapp, Glendale 11 Station Manager. "The video combines with Glendale's existing anti-graffiti program to educate the community, and hopefully, more people will provide information that leads to an arrest or identification of a graffiti vandal."

The two-minute PSA, produced by Glendale 11, is aimed at preventing graffiti vandalism by informing teens of the penalties they face if caught. Taggers who are convicted for graffiti may receive the following: loss of driving privileges until 18 years old; time in jail; one-year probation; 80 hours of removing graffiti; up to $10,000 criminal restitution; $1,000 fine; and parents of minors who commit graffiti are liable for up to $10,000 criminal restitution.

 "Graffiti tends to be on the rise when the school year ends," said Glendale Police Officer Randy Stewart. "It is also important for parents to realize the signs of a tagger."

Parents are encouraged to look for the following signs:

• Paint stains on child's clothing
• Paint or permanent marker stains on hands
• A child carries tools that could be used for etching glass such as hole punchers, glass cutters, screwdrivers, metal scribes and other sharp objects
• A child has large quantities of magic markers, shoe polish or other drawing devices
• A child has graffiti magazines or flyers
• A child has displays of graffiti or tags on clothing, binders, backpacks and other personal items

The video is being shown on Glendale 11. Glendale 11 airs on Cox and Qwest Channel 11, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For a complete television guide, visit www.glendaleaz.com/glendale11 and can also be viewed by clicking here.

The Glendale Police Department also offers an online Graffiti reporting form and information page. Users can view photos that represent some of the existing graffiti incidents that the Police Department is currently pursuing at http://www.glendaleaz.com/police/GraffitiBustersMostWanted.cfm.

To report graffiti, call 623.930.3000. For graffiti removal, call 623.930.3080. For more information, visit www.glendaleaz.com.