Mayor and Council Study Session March 4, 2014

Graffiti Abatement Update

Edward Wilmes, AdministratorStreets and Traffic Maintenance

City of Tucson, Dept. of Transportation

Presented by:

Daryl W. Cole, DirectorCity of Tucson, Dept. of Transportation

Presentation Outlinen Abatement

l Historyl Victims

Ø PublicØ Private

l Myths and Sources

n Costs and Statisticsl TPDl TDOTl Utilitiesl Private

n Successful Programsl Responsible Retaill TAGl Comparative Efforts

n National Effortsl National Council to Prevent

Delinquencyl American Coatings Associationl International Municipal

Lawyer’s Associationl Governmental Powers

Abatement:Short History

n Initial Program Managementn Department of Neighborhood Resources (Code Enforcement)l GPC – September 2006

n 2009 TPD Management n March 2011 Pilot

l Downtown Focus

n 2011 TDOT Managementn GPC Contract

l Renewal March 1, 2014

Abatement:Short History

n Graffiti Task Force: l Convened January 27, 2012l Activities

Ø GPC changed database to ID utilitiesØ Added “88crime” to contact listØ Sought utility buy-inØ PSA created and shown on Channel 12Ø Outreach to Graffiti Action Forum

(Neighborhood Assn's)l Last met November 5, 2012

Victims: Two Primary Groups

n Public l Signs l Traffic Signal and Lighting

Controllersl Drainage ways, Tunnels and

Washesl Elevated and Below-grade

Structuresl Sidewalksl Public Artl Public Transportation

n Private l Wallsl Commercial and

Residential Structuresl Window Etchingl Utility Boxes and Polesl Railway Assetsl Other Surfaces

Ø Fences and Screening

Myths and Sources

n Materialsl Retail NOT primary source for materiall Tools include wide markers and spray paints

n Internet Supply l Direct, targeted marketing efforts

Ø Custom nozzles

l Damaged and discounted materialØ Becomes source of revenue for graffiti offenders

Services•March 2011 - Pilot areaidentified in downtownTucson, representinghardest hit area in the City.Initiated focused efforts tobegin addressing graffiticrimes.

•Tucson Police Departmenttook initial lead inaddressing the graffiti-related activity

•Quick realization ofimpact to other CityDepartments as well

n TDOT – Internall One part time Supervisorl Two full-time

Technicians

n Reported and Abatedl FY 2012: 56,067l FY 2013: 57,595l FY 2014: 45,782

Thru 2/24/2014

l Utilitiesl Private Sector

n TPDl Two full-time

Ø TAG Unit OfficersØ Divisional Officers

l One part-time TAG Sergeant

Abatement Statisticsn Taggings: 227,308

l 2014: 9,825Through 2/28/2014

n Surfaces Cleanedl Area: 10,796,575 sq’

Ø Avg Size: 47.54 sq’Ø Public: 166,062Ø Private: 60,623

n Abatement Methodsl Paint: 95,136l Mediablast: 131,117

n Reported Vial Phone: 6,771l Email: 5,021l Unknown: 3,112l COT Website: 3,018l Staff, etc: 1,678

Abatement Statistics:Cumulativen By Ward

l 1: 39,996l 2: 11,821l 3: 47,118l 4: 17,940l 5: 64,250l 6: 43,329l No ID: 2,854

n By Precinctl Downtown: 32,294l East: 31,913l Midtown: 35,047l South: 79,452l West: 45,748l No ID: 2,854

Abatement Statistics:Current Fiscal Year

Graffiti Abatement Cost FY 14 Budget

FY 14 thru 2-4-14

TDOT Labor $160,600 $106,195

GPC Contract $ 720,000 $ 438,941

Materials $ 38,480 $ 0Total $ 919,080 $ 545,136

Abatement Statistics:Per Fiscal Year

FY 14 FY 13* FY 12* FY 11 FY 10 TotalsW1 7,973 13,048 9,395 5,411 4,169 39,996W2 2,160 2,634 3,328 2,061 1,638 11,821W3 9,635 12,159 11,984 7,085 6,255 47,118W4 2,908 4,232 4,410 3,433 2,957 17,940W5 15,676 17,197 13,602 10,571 7,204 64,250W6 6,635 7,525 12,549 10,445 6,175 43,329

Not Identified 795 778 797 228 232 2,830* GPC Data Error 22 2

Totals 45,782 57,595 56,067 39,234 28,630 227,308

Graffiti Abatement Work Orders

Successful Programs

n GPC Database: Benefitsl Centralized Repositoryl Cumulative Loss Valuel Felony-level Chargesl Victim Loss Reporting

Ø Public and Private

l Mobile App Leverages Current TechnologyØ Scalable

Successful Programsn Responsible Retailing

l Spray Paint in Plain View, Cagedl In-Store Signagel Theft Prevention Trainingl Education for Retail Staff

n Target All Graffiti (TAG) Unitl One part-time sergeant and two full-time officers*l Prolific taggers, felonious criminal damagel Engage in community education effortsl April 2014 – Attendance at National Conference

n Tucson Electricl graffiti@tep.coml 12/9/2013

n Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA)l Various methods of reporting

n Metropolitan Pima Alliancel No information available

Local Efforts

Challenges: Numbersn Reported Incidents

l Expectations and Abilities Differl Some fluctuation in quantity – still significant

n Citizen and Business Concernsl Rising

n Dedicated Resourcesl Personnel: Relatively constantl Financial: Capped annually - Challenging

Comparative Efforts

City of Phoenix

$6 Million Annual Budget

Increase in Staffing

All Contractor Services

National Effortsn National Council to Prevent Delinquency (NCPD)

l Anti-Graffiti ProjectØ School curriculum materials

n American Coatings Association (ACA)l Responsible Retailing Program

Ø Retail control and loss prevention

n International Municipal Lawyer’s Associationl Model Bill: Regulatory Framework

n Governmental Powersl Spray Paint Bans

Ø Negative impact to retailers – 30%

Recommendations: Moving Forwardn Renew Task Force – Representative of:

l Judiciary OutreachØ Recommend Changes in SentencingØ Courts (Municipal, County and State)

l Public Sector: Municipal and CountyØ LeadershipØ Law Enforcement and Graffiti Units

l Private SectorØ Utilities and RailroadsØ Property ManagersØ Business and Retail

Thanks

n City of Tucson Police

n City of Tucson Procurement

n City of Tucson Department of Transportation

n Graffiti Protective Coatings (GPC)

n American Coatings Association

Questions ??