It's a shame that your areas are being sprayed with less then artistic pieces. I think all the ideas suggested so far are very good. Instead of trying to prevent it though, go with the flow (pardon the pun). At the age where kids are rebelling and tagging pieces in derrogatory or improper manners (pornographic, vulgar, ect) it's only going to encourage them to rebel even more by putting up cameras or warning signs. In essence, I believe you are saying, "I'll get you!" and they are simply finding ways to continue it or they might destroy the cameras or worse. Find an area for them to tag and ask them to not use vulgar language or inappropriate images. Then encourage them to "One-Up" each other - let them compete with each other rather then destroy things. I know you might not want to spend the money on costructing a wall, so do what you can - find an area on the ground, ask a local party store or shop if you can use it. By putting up a sign that says something like, "This space is reserved for graffiti artists. The local community respects your art from and we donate this area for you to creatively show us your potential. With respect, we ask that you not use vulgarity or pornographic images due to the younger children who will see this. We ask for nothing in return but for you to use this area rather then private property". I know it sounds lame, but if you get some of the more mature artists to use it, the younger immature ones will probably follow.
Graffiti art is an amazing talent and you see it's influence every day around us. The logo to the new show, "Reaper" is very highly modeled off tagging and it's early principles. A lot of the early graffiti artists (70's-90's) have gone on to become very successful artists, designers, etc. There will ALWAYS be those who do not respect the idea of the right place at the right time, especially when they are young, but all you can do is show them the right way to express themselves. There have been tons of art gallerys that show and sell graf pieces.
In regards to removal, Home Depot sells a product called Lift Off that is 7 bucks a bottle and works really well. Ask if the store manager is on hand so you might ask them to donate a few bottles of it. When they hear you are associated with KaBOOM, I'd hope they would say yes.
Hope this might help and enlighten everyone a little more on the subject.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/display.var.2044112.0.yobs_take_over_play_area.php
Snippet:
He reported it to police and is now calling for the play area, which opened last month and is aimed at children aged four to 12, to be locked at night. The man said: "There must have been about 20 of them on the equipment in two different groups and I would say they were aged between 13 and 15. "There was underage drinking going on and some of them had filled up coke bottles with lager. One of the lads just came up to me and made a cutting gesture. He said something under his breath which sounded like I'll stab you'." The father said the park should be locked in case the problem worsens when the nights are lighter in summer. The play area was created last year as part of a plan to extend the community centre at the park.
He reported it to police and is now calling for the play area, which opened last month and is aimed at children aged four to 12, to be locked at night.
The man said: "There must have been about 20 of them on the equipment in two different groups and I would say they were aged between 13 and 15.
"There was underage drinking going on and some of them had filled up coke bottles with lager. One of the lads just came up to me and made a cutting gesture. He said something under his breath which sounded like I'll stab you'."
The play area was created last year as part of a plan to extend the community centre at the park.
So is the answer to lock up playspaces at night?
I found this article interesting...
Quail Valley park gets new playground Graffiti vandals fail to spoil Saturday celebration
Excerpt:
Others also say the park has improved significantly since it reopened in 2001. Rita Peters, a longtime Quail Valley resident and Menifee school board member, attributed the improvement in part to the Carters, whom she lauded for doing an awesome job maintaining the park and connecting with those who use it. "We've had caretakers before, but they were not as reliable," she said. "(The Carters have) really stayed on top of the graffiti and the graffitists." The new playground equipment will be well-used, she predicted. It replaces older equipment that was worn, smaller and not accessible for people with disabilities, county officials said. Peters said the old equipment was bought years ago with help from the Moose Lodge, which secured a private grant. Leah McGee, president of the community's Crime Watch program, said group volunteers patrol the area daily, especially when the two sheriff's deputies assigned to the area are off-duty. They work closely with the Sheriff's Department, a county ranger assigned to Kabian Park, and the Carters, she said. "Things have been very good," she said. "But it's not a one-man team; it's the community working together." She said the graffiti found Friday morning was a tag she had not seen in her eight years as president of Crime Watch. The graffiti comes in spurts, she said, on an average of once per month. McGee is also a member of the Quail Valley Municipal Advisory Committee, and she said that group may soon consider asking 3rd District Supervisor Jeff Stone about installing motion lights in the park to cut down on graffiti and keep people away at night, when it is closed.
Others also say the park has improved significantly since it reopened in 2001.
Rita Peters, a longtime Quail Valley resident and Menifee school board member, attributed the improvement in part to the Carters, whom she lauded for doing an awesome job maintaining the park and connecting with those who use it.
"We've had caretakers before, but they were not as reliable," she said. "(The Carters have) really stayed on top of the graffiti and the graffitists."
The new playground equipment will be well-used, she predicted. It replaces older equipment that was worn, smaller and not accessible for people with disabilities, county officials said.
Peters said the old equipment was bought years ago with help from the Moose Lodge, which secured a private grant.
Leah McGee, president of the community's Crime Watch program, said group volunteers patrol the area daily, especially when the two sheriff's deputies assigned to the area are off-duty. They work closely with the Sheriff's Department, a county ranger assigned to Kabian Park, and the Carters, she said.
"Things have been very good," she said. "But it's not a one-man team; it's the community working together."
She said the graffiti found Friday morning was a tag she had not seen in her eight years as president of Crime Watch. The graffiti comes in spurts, she said, on an average of once per month. McGee is also a member of the Quail Valley Municipal Advisory Committee, and she said that group may soon consider asking 3rd District Supervisor Jeff Stone about installing motion lights in the park to cut down on graffiti and keep people away at night, when it is closed.
Hi,
I sometimes think that locking up the playground area will not prevent the vandalism from occuring. If the people will continue to have access to the site, even though it is locked, I think that it may continue. I think that removing the graffiti as quickly as possible will help the situation. The offneders will hopefully stop the graffiti when they realize that it is removed as soon as it goes up. There are some anti graffiti wipes that can remedy this. Hope this helps!
I often think that locking a fence will not deter the offenders, if they can still access the site. I think that the best solution to the problem is removing the graffiti as soon as it goes up. This should be a top priority in the maintenanace plan. I think that if the graffiti does not stay up for a long time, that those vandalizing the property will eventually stop. Hope that this helps!
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