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This guide is one in a series of crime prevention publications designed to equip current and potential Safe City partners with low-cost tools to assess their crime problems and to develop strategies to address them. Other guides in this series include panhandling, car crimes, public disorder, retail burglary, and shoplifting. 2 Safe City www.urban.org/justice. For moreinformationabouttheUrbanInstitute’s justicepolicyresearchactivities, pleasevisit implement. For moreinformationabouttheSafeCityprogram, pleasevisitwww.mysafecity.com. of crimepreventionstrategies foruseinretailsettings, manyofwhichareinexpensiveandeasyto Safe CityhaspartneredwiththeUrbanInstitute, anon-profi t policyresearchfi rm, todevelopavariety crime anddisorderproblemsoccurringinaroundtheirbusinesses. success. These partnershipsarefurtherstrengthenedbyindividualretailerstakingownershipoverthe The SafeCitymodelpromotespartnershipsandtechnicalsolutionsasinstrumentalbuildingblocksfor fi nancial, technological, andhumanresourcesavailable toaddressacommunity’s crimeproblems. leaders, propertymanagers, andcommunityorganizations. This approachmaximizesthetactical, by buildingcollaborative relationshipsbetweenlawenforcement, businesses, residents, government U.S. modifythemodeltobestsuittheirneedsandresources. The goalistoleverage existingresources develop communitiesintosaferplacestolive, work, andshop. Community partnersincitiesacrossthe Vsides offreeways, parkbenches, billboards, buses, bussheltersorstations, traffi c signs, vandalism iscommonlyfoundontrains, aof vandalism orgraffi ti. Notsurprisingly, less wellguarded, are alsofrequenttargets responsibility forthearea, orthosethatseem npublic view. Properties wherenoonehasdirect or thoseonprivate propertiesthatareopento vandalism arethoselocatedinpublicspaces, dLOCATION. acommon, particularlyforjuvenilevandals. surveillance. After-school hoursarealso surrounding propertyhavelittleorno llate eveninghourswhenbusinessesand TIME. isgroup. alone orasmembersofalooseorganized or aspartofagame. Perpetrators maywork mfrustration, tostake revenge, tomake money, including: toconveyamessage, toexpress Individuals vandalize foravariety ofreasons Vandalism isnotsenselesspropertydamage. VVandalism Patterns cover themselves. cleaning, whichthevictimsareoftenleftto generating costs associatedwithrepairsand incidents areburdensometobusinessesby for moreinformation. Furthermore, vandalism Safe Cityguide “Preventing PublicDisorder” disturbing thepeaceandtrespassing. Seethe with othersignsofsocialdisorder, suchas or buildings. Vandalism isoftenassociated damage toproperty, suchasequipment In general, vandalism iswillfulormalicious Defi nitions ofvandalism vary byjurisdiction. UUnderstanding Vandalism SSafe City a a n f n e Muchvandalism isdoneinthe d d

C a e l i i t The mostfrequenttargetsof r s y m

s is amodelcommunity-basedinitiativethataimstoreducecrime, buildawareness, and

t P a a n t t e d r i n n s g

V a n d a that comeincontactwithit. surfaces andisextremelyharmfulforthose permanently damagesglassandmetal surfaces withacid. Acid graffi ti (acidetching) etching pensandshoepolishbottlestomark pens, orshoepolishbottles. Vandals use broad-tipped markers, metalobjects, etching to tagormarkpropertyincluding, spray paint, Graffi ti vandals use avariety ofinstruments retailers andcommercialpropertyowners. pervasive typeof vandalism experiencedby or otherdefacingofproperty. Graffi ti isa signage orornamentation, breakingwindows, dumping, lightsmashing, removing/bending TYPES. once islikely tobevandalized again. crimes, abuildingthathasbeenvandalized particularly vulnerable tovandalism. Like other concentrations of low-incomeresidentsare near citydowntowns, hightraffi c areas, or light-colored surfaces. Businesseslocated vacant buildings, schools, orotherlarge, plain, could leadtoothermoreseriouscrimes. windows” offensewhich, ifnotaddressed, Vandalism iswidelyviewedasa”broken more systematicprobleminthecommunity. vandalism maybearefl ection ofalarger or be consideredtrivial; however, inaggregate, violent crime, anincidentofvandalism may most underreportedcrimes. As comparedto reports topolicebecausetheyaresomeofthe or costofvandalism basedontheoffi cial It isdiffi cult togaugethetrueprevalence AAddressing Vandalism l d i d s r Vandalism includesgraffi ti, trash m e s s i n g

V a n d a l i s m the UrbanInstitute,itstrustees,orfunders. position orpoliciesoftheU.S.DepartmentJustice, authors anddonotnecessarilyrepresenttheofﬁ Opinions expressedinthisdocumentarethoseof the 5 Modify yourstrategy ifnecessary. 4 Measure yourvandalism problem 3 Choose apractical strategy to 2 Identify businesspractices thatmay 1 Measure yourvandalism problem. can helppreventvandalism: Here areafewguidingstepsthat QQuick Tips panhandling, andshoplifting. crimes, retailburglary, publicdisorder, Other guidesinthisseriesaddresscar business environment. nature ofyourcrimeproblemand should tailoryoursolutiontotheunique implementing thesestrategies you issues. Keep inmindthatwhen community stakeholders aboutthese dialogue amongretailers, police, and business areaandtohelppromote the vandalism problemaffectingyour your partnersunderstandandaddress This guideisdesignedtohelpyouand UUsing The UrbanInstituteJusticePolicy Center. “Preventing Vandalism.” Washington,DC: Nancy G. La Vigne, and Tobi Palmer. 2007. For citationpurposes: your strategy. again toassesstheimpactof reduce vandalism andtryit. make youvulnerable tovandalism. s u i i n c k g

T tthis Guide h i p i s Scott, MichelleL., s

G u i d e cial business areasothatyoucanselectanappropriateresponsestrategy. underlying communityproblemswhichmayberelatedtovandalism.Answers tothesequestionswillhelpyouunderstandtheproble or graffi ti onyourown, acommunity-wideresponsethatincorporates otherareabusinesses, agencies, andpublicservicesisbe your business. Communitypartnersshouldconsiderthequestionsthatappearbelow. Although therearemanymethodsyoumayuse BBefore implementingastrategy DDefi e e f o fi r area businesses? Are theactsofvandalismsameforother being targeted? Do youhaveanythingincommonwithotherbusinesses or graffi Are otherarea businessesexperiencingvandalism What timesof dayanddaysofweekdoesvandalismoccur? the vandalizing? Do youknowanythingabouttheindividualsdoing Are vandalstargeting specifi What typeofvandalism ismostcommon? occurred onyourproperty inthepastquarter? How manyincidentsofvandalismorgraffi QQuestions toAsk: ning Your Problem e n u

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s c typesofproperty? r t r o a b t e l g e y m topreventvandalism, itisimportanttodefi ne thespecifi c natureofthevandalism problemaffecting ti have EExample Responses: anyone elsecomplainoftrash dumping. The spray paintingseemsrather pervasive. Ihavenotheard Yes, weareallwithinwalking distanceofa middleschool. Yes, Ihaveheardofother businesses havingproblemsaswell. occur onFriday orSaturdaynights. All incidentsoccurredatnightafterthestoreisclosed. Most sure whoisdumpingtrash. I thinkthegraffi ti ispaintedprimarilybyjuveniles. Iamnot common targets. Walls, barriers, andtrash dumpstersarethemost Spray paintingis mostcommon, followedbytrash dumping. past quarter. There weretenseparate incidentsofvandalism inthe x a m p l e

R e s p o n s e s : neﬁ cial toaddressany m affectingyour to addressvandalism

3 SafeV City andalism 4 Safe City collaborative effortstoreducecrimethroughoutthecommunity. other crime)canbeusefulinpersuadingareabusinessestojoin selected iseffective. Proofofeffectivelyreducingvandalism (orany initiating aresponse. Doingsowilltellyouwhethertheresponse It isimportanttomeasureyourvandalism problembeforeandafter prevention strategy. and delaysinboththeimplementationimpactofyourcrime for potentialimplementationchallenges, suchasunanticipatedcosts that yoursmayrequireatailoredresponse. Inaddition, beprepared common vandalism scenarios. Donotforgetthatsituationsvary and strategy topreventit. The followingarestrategies thatcanbeusedfor vandalism problemforyourarea, youarereadytodeveloparesponse Vandalism AAfter you’veworked DDeveloping ResponseStrategies f t e e • Day/timeofincidents • Numberofchronicoffenders • Locationofdamage • Demographics ofsuspects • Cost($)ofrepairorcleanup • Numberofcallsforservice • Numberofincidents Juveniles damagingproperty Grafﬁ • Cost($)ofrepairorcleanup • Numberofchronicoffenders • Locationofincidents • Numberofincidents General vandalism MMeasurement • Day/timeofincidents • Numberofchronicoffenders • Locationofdamage • Demographics ofsuspects • Cost($)ofcleanup • Numberofcallsforservice • Numberofincidents v r

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e with yourpartnerstodeﬁ ne s DData Source • Sitesurvey • Businessrecords • Localpolice • Sitesurvey • Businessrecords • Localpolice • Sitesurvey • Businessrecords • Localpolice p a t o a n

S o s u e r

c S e t • Installvideosurveillance inproblematiclocations • Establishlistofchronicvandals • Developbusinessorneighborhoodwatch program • Increase incidentreportingtopolice • Improvelighting • Detectandrepairdamagequickly • Usestrengthened, scratch-resistant glassorgrillesinwindows • Putlightsout-of-reachorbehindprotectivecoverings • Increase targetedpoliceorsecuritypresenceforhoursimmediately • • Monitorvandalism-prone areasregularly • Improvelighting • Maintaintreesandshrubstoimprovelineofsight • Installsecureperimeterfencingthatallowsforsurveillance • Reduce pedestrianthroughways • Implementagraffi ti hotline • Establish listofchronicgraffi ti artistsorcreateanintelligence • Developbusinessorneighborhoodwatch program • Increaseincidentreportingtopolice • Installvideosurveillanceinproblematiclocations • Improvelighting • Restrict spray paint, widetippedmarkers, andetchingacidsales • Plant lowshrubs, vines, orthornyplantsaroundsignsbuildingsto • Detectandcleanupgraffi ti quickly • Apply protectivefi lm toglasssurfacesminimizeaciddamage • Usegraffi ti resistantpaintorheavilytexturedmaterials • Developbusinessorneighborhoodwatch program SStrategic Response r t

Work toenactmandatoryclean-upregulationsforbusinessesorcommunity following schooldismissal database notingcharacteristics ofchronicvandals’ work make accessdifﬁ cult a the r a t t e e g g i c i

e R s e over timeasthenumberofvandalism incidentsdecrease. attention tovandalism. However, reportedincidentsshoulddecline outcome, indicatingthatcommunitymembersarepayinggreater increase inreportingofincidentstopolicemayrepresentapositive When measuringoutcomesitisimportanttonotethatatemporary the vandalism problemhasimproved, andpossibledatasources. the stateofyourvandalism problem, outcomesthatwillindicatewhether see whetherithashadanimpact. Belowareways thatyoucanmeasure advisable towait atleastafewmonthsafterimplementingresponseto response isinorder. While youmaynoteimprovementsimmediately, itis reducing vandalism asyouexpected, suggestinganadjustmenttothe Your measurementmayalsoprovideevidencethatthestrategy isnot s p o n s e • • Fewer incidents • Fewer after-school or • Fewer repeatoffenders • Fewer offenders • Decreased cost($) • Fewer callsforservice • Fewer incidents • Decreased cost($) • Fewer repeatoffenders • Incidents less • Fewer incidents • • Fewer repeat offenders • Less concentrated • Fewer juvenile • Decreased cost($)of Outcome O weekend incidents of cleanup of repair concentrated weekend incidents Fewer after-school or Fewer callsforservice damage offenders repair u t c o m e TThe GreensideShoppingCenter MMeasuring Your Problem:AnExample strategies wereimplemented. display thelayoutofpropertybeforeandafterchosenresponse could bemodifi ed topreventfuturevandalism. The diagrams below shopping centertofi nd vulnerable characteristics ofthepropertythat Given thisinformation, thegroupconductedawalk-through ofthe fi xed tothebackofbuilding. center. The mostprevalent offensesweregraffi ti anddamagetolights primary vandalism problemswerelocatedintherearofshopping businesses regardingvandalism incidents. This reviewrevealedthatthe group ofbusinessownersmettoreviewrecordsfromthepoliceand concerned withincidentsofvandalism neartheirstores. A representative h e e

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Middle School Middle School s i i d n e

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C P e r n t o GGreenside ShoppingCenter GGreenside ShoppingCenter e b r r r businesseswere e e l e e e n n m s s i i d d : e e

A S S h h n o o p p

p p E i i n n x g g that willberesistanttotamperingandbreakage. repaint therearofbuildingadarker colorandtoinstalltalllightposts to installafriendly, butsturdyfencealongtheroadside. They alsoplanto further limitpedestrianaccesstoonlyonesidewalk entrance, theyintend apartment buildinglocatedoneachsideoftheShoppingCenter. To the propertytolimitpedestrianaccessbetweenMiddleSchooland The groupdecidedtoerectachainlinkfencearoundthree-quartersof a

C C m e e n n t t p Light Posts e e r r l e Fence BBefore AAfter e f

t Apartment Building Apartment Apartment Building Apartment f e o r r e

5 SafeV City andalism HHowow OOtherther CCommunitiesommunities PPreventrevent VandalismVandalism

Here are examples of how other retail establishments addressed vandalism in their communities.

CCityity ooff FFontana,ontana, CCaliforniaalifornia SSanan DDiegoiego PPoliceolice DDepartmentepartment Concerned business owners, residents, and police established a coalition MMid-Cityid-City DDivision,ivision, CCaliforniaalifornia after an increased number of complaints about graffi ti. The coalition In March 1999, community members enlisted the assistance of police to developed a multidisciplinary approach to address the problem. The city address the negative effects of graffi ti on their quality of life. Analysis of passed an ordinance to require property owners to remove graffi ti within the problem revealed that the best approach to address graffi ti would 48 hours, or the city could charge the owner for clean-up expenses. be to target active and potential graffi ti writers (or “taggers”). The Downtown businesses also gave permission for the city to remove graffi ti community created a partnership to provide youth-oriented services, free of charge. Before August 1999, the city graffi ti hotline received more including counseling for the most problematic taggers, a joint youth- than 40 complaints of new graffi ti per day. By March 2001, the volume police bike patrol in popular tagging sites, local student groups to paint of complaints reduced by 90 percent, to 4.4 complaints per day (Fontana positive murals on heavily tagged walls, and requiring juveniles on Police Department Anti-Graffi ti Program 2001). probation for tagging to clean up reported graffi ti. In addition, community stakeholders joined an adopt-a-block program for which the city’s graffi ti DDouglasouglas PPromenaderomenade control program provided cleaning supplies. The police noted a 90 percent reduction in graffi ti reports and 30 percent of taggers in counseling IIslesle ooff MMan,an, BBritishritish IIslessles stopped tagging (Graffi ti Prevention and Suppression 2000). In 2003, businesses, residents, and police established Project Centurion, a multi-agency collaboration created in response to increased alcohol- related criminal activity, including damage to property, occurring on Douglas Promenade primarily between the hours of 10pm and 2am on Friday and Saturdays. Analysis confi rmed a very high correlation between the number of people leaving nightclubs and incidents of criminal damage. Project Centurion developed more than 50 potential responses to address the promenade’s range of problems. Police patrols were strategically deployed to criminal hotspots and neighborhood watch programs were established throughout the area. The taxicab company improved their services to transport clubbers away from the area and extra buses created a late night bus route. Crime along the promenade decreased by one-third within two years of the initiative; criminal damage experienced a nearly 50 percent decline during the same time (Project Centurion: Reducing Crime and Disorder on Douglas Promenade 2005). m s i l a d n a V 6City Safe Johnson, Kelly Dedel. 2005. Graffi ti PreventionandSuppression. 2000. SanDiegoPolice Department(CA): www.popcenter.org/library/goldstein/2000/2000.pdf Fontana Police Department Anti-Graffi ti Program. 2001. CityofFontana, California: www.popcenter.org/library/goldstein/2001/01 City of Vancouver Graffi ti ManagementProgram athttp://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/engsvcs/streets/graffi ti/index.htm Barker, MaryandCressindaBridgeman. 1994. Sources consultedforthisguideinclude: • National Association ofConvenienceStores: http://www.nacsonline.com/NACS/default.htm • NationalRestaurant Association: www.restaurant.org • NationalRetailFederation: http://www.nrf.com • SmallBusiness Administration: www.sba.gov • NationalCrimePreventionCouncil: http://www.ncpc.org • Graffi ti Hurts, Graffi ti Prevention: Tips forBusinesses: http://www.graffi tihurts.org/learn_more/bustips.pdf • NYCBusinessSolutions: www.nyc.gov/html/sbs/nycbiz/html/managing/graffi ti.shtml • Crime and Violence PreventionCenterCA Attorney General’s Offi ce: www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/police/Publications/publications.h • Niagara RegionalPolice Service: www.nrps.com/community/vandalism.asp • RutgersUniversityCrimePreventionServiceforBusiness: http://crimeprevention.rutgers.edu • CenterforProblem-OrientedPolicing: www.popcenter.org • Your LocalSafeCityPartnership • Your LocalPolice Department AAdditional Resources Available: www.popcenter.org/Problems/problem-graffi ti.htm. Weisel, Deborah Lamm. Project Centurion: ReducingCrimeandDisorderonDouglasPromenade. 2005. IsleofMan, BritishIsles: www.popcenter.org/Librar Offi ce ofCommunityOrientedPolicing Services. Available: www.popcenter.org/Problems/problem-vandalism.htm. wwww.MySafeCity.com d w d w i . t M i y o S n a Graffi f a e School Vandalism andBreak-Ins. C l ti . 2002. Problem-OrientedGuidesforPolice Series, No. 9. Washington, DC: U.S. DepartmentofJustice, Offi ce ofCommunityOrien

i t R y . c e o s m o Preventing Vandalism: WhatWorks? u r c e Problem-OrientedGuidesforPolice ProblemSpeciﬁ c GuidesSeries, No. 35. Washington, DC: U.S. DepartmentofJustice, s CrimeDetection&PreventionSeries, No. 56. Available: www.homeofﬁ ce.gov.uk/rds. -20.pdf y/Goldstein/2005/05-05(W).pdf tml ted Policing Services.

7 SafeV City andalism wwww.MySafeCity.comww.MySafeCity.com