Graffiti is vandalism and it hurts business. It is unsightly and leaves a bad impression with your customers. Arriving to work in the morning only to find your business vandalized with graffiti is infuriating. We have some tips and solutions that can help.
When left alone, graffiti multiplies. Vandals enjoy seeing their illegal handiwork on display and the longer it remains the more the vandal can boast. Additionally, left untended, a business can send an unintentional signal to every other neighborhood tagger that they can safely expect to have their vandalism on display for a long time as well.
Experience has shown that removing the graffiti promptly is a very effective deterrent to future graffiti. For a tagger to have his/her artwork immediately eliminated demonstrates that the business owner is serious about maintaining the image and appearance of their building. It becomes a less interesting target if their graffiti is immediately destroyed and has no audience.
Police take graffiti seriously. Take these steps to address graffiti when it happens:
- Report the incident to the police
- Take photos and ensure the police report is complete
- Remove the graffiti
Preventing graffiti is not always possible, but good lighting and posted “video surveillance” signs help. Installing a video surveillance system can help the police catch and prosecute the vandals. You may also consider using any number of special paints and coatings on your graffiti-prone walls and fences. They make graffiti cleanup much easier.
If you are would rather leave the graffiti removal to the pros, contact us.
