Week 43.Graffiti Abatement with the City of Dallas

October 27, 2018

Graffiti is the personal act of marking or etching on someone’s property without their effective consent. Painting graffiti, also known as “tagging,” is a crime.

The Dallas Police Department is dedicated to the eradication of graffiti vandalism by pursuing prosecution of the suspects to the fullest extent of the law, as well as providing education and preventive programs though coordinated efforts of city agencies, business organizations, and community groups.

Managed by the Department of Code Compliance, the Graffiti Abatement and Prevention Program (GAPP) aims to to eliminate problematic tagging through community involvement, education, and building sustainable partnerships.

I have partnered with the City several times, taking students of all ages to paint over graffiti. They do great job educating the volunteers about graffiti in our community. They also introduced us to the Fabrication Yard in West Dallas, where the City gives street taggers a canvas where they can legally display their work. Since 2013, when Dallas declared that the building would be a “free wall,” graffiti artists have found a place to paint without fear of arrest.

The City enlists volunteers to maintain the other buildings in the area. On October 27, I volunteered to paint over graffiti with 20 members of our Warrior Outreach Organization (WOO) at Lakehill Preparatory School. We provided a five-gallon bucket of gray paint and the city provided the gloves, brushes, rollers, and other supplies. The graffiti runs the gamut, from impressive artwork to inappropriate tagging. I always enjoy seeing what the graffiti artists have created when allowed to do so legally. When it comes to painting over the tagging, I appreciate that it’s relatively easy to cover it up and make things look better. Just for fun, the City let us do a bit of our own “tagging” (see bottom picture). But don’t worry – we painted over it after we took the picture!

The City of Dallas has established a variety of programs to help control, prevent, and remove graffiti. Volunteers are always needed.

Find out more.