Program that erases graffiti helps improve Yakima neighborhoods, limit gang activity

Feb. 6—A patchwork of gray paint covers past graffiti messages left on Dwayne Reid's property in east Yakima, and city of Yakima code compliance officer Joshua Viveros added a new gray block Wednesday, using a paint sprayer to cover the newest marks.

The graffiti shows up every so often, Reid said, sometimes on the front fence or in the alley, and even once on his house. He's covered it himself in the past, but now he enlists the city for help.

"I'm not the best painter anymore," Reid said.

The city's Graffiti Abatement Program works to cover graffiti quickly when it's reported, but supervising code inspector Tony Doan said the program needs help from Yakima residents and property owners. Covering the graffiti quickly keeps neighborhoods looking good, Doan said, and it also helps to suppress communication between gangs.

Link to gang activity

Rival gangs use graffiti to communicate, and the messages are associated with gang violence and other crimes, Doan said.

"When the graffiti is happening, it's purposeful. It's to send a message to rival gangs," Doan said. "There's been an increase in gang violence and gang crime when the graffiti stays there."

By covering the graffiti quickly, the city is taking that form of communication away, Doan said.

Yakima Police Chief Matt Murray said he goes out to cover graffiti on many mornings, and he said the city abatement program often responds to graffiti reports within 24 hours.

"(Graffiti) is a great way for gangs to communicate," Murray said. "And if you can take that away, you can really take some of the air out from under them."

Murray said consistency also helps impede communication between gangs.

"The reason they're doing it is to get attention," he said. "They want to see their name up in lights, so if it's gone before they even wake up, it's really frustrating."

Doan said the city received about 5,700 reports of graffiti in 2020 under the Clean City program, which funds the abatement program. The number of overall reports declined in 2021 to about 2,900. Doan attributed the decline to the program's efforts in 2020.

"It really, I think, discouraged a lot of the people that were doing it," Doan said.

The Yakima City Council approved a funding increase for the Clean City program in the fall, and city garbage customers saw higher collection rates because of the increase. The additional funds will go to increased police presence, trash cleanup, legal staff members, more code enforcement and outreach for people experiencing homelessness.

Reporting graffiti

To reduce gang activity, the city works quickly to respond to incoming graffiti reports. The city asks residents to cover graffiti in a timely fashion if they're able to do it themselves, Doan said.

"The sooner the better," he said. "We've found that rapid abatement tends to diminish future repeating incidents on that same property."

He said the city is limited with its resources — and paint color — so property owners should cover it quickly if they can. If property owners can't cover the graffiti themselves, they can use the reporting process and request help from the city, Doan said.

A person can report graffiti on their property or someone else's by submitting a Yak Back request through the city's website, Doan said. A liability form has to be filled out by the property owner and occupant if they want the city to cover the graffiti, he said. People also can call the graffiti hotline at 509-575-3550.

The city ordinance on graffiti abatement says the city can also send out formal notices to properties that have been graffitied. Doan said the notices are rare and are typically only used if the property owner isn't taking care of the graffiti and hasn't filled out the permission form to allow the city to do it.

Responding to reports

When a liability form is submitted, the city checks the form and property information to make sure it is accurate and uses a mapping system to map the property, Doan said. If resources are available, the city can then repaint, he said.

The city can't paint over graffiti on private property if the liability form is not signed by the property owner and occupant, Doan said. According to the city website, the form is valid for one year for tenants, two years for property managers or five years for property owners and it does not automatically renew.

The program is also responsible for painting over any graffiti on city property. Commercial property owners can use city abatement services, Doan said, but they sometimes prefer to cover graffiti themselves so they can use the correct paint color.

The city uses recycled paint and is limited on paint colors, Doan said, so the paint may not always match. The program also has only one employee to staff the program.

"We can only do so much. If we're overwhelmed with graffiti abatement calls and complaints, that's when we revert to the property owner to abate that graffiti," Doan said.

Analyzing graffiti

Doan said any images of graffiti submitted through Yak Back are forwarded to YPD so the graffiti can be analyzed.

The police department uses a program called Graffiti Tracker to identify characteristics in the marks, decipher what the graffiti says and match it to other examples, Murray said.

In some cases, it allows police to identify who left the message, he said. But more than anything, it gives police insight into the communication and what gangs might be planning, Murray said.

"They'll often tell you what they're doing" in the graffiti, Murray said.

Contact Kate Smith at katesmith@yakimaherald.com.

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