Awards
2005 Graffiti Hurts® Award Winners
Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful, Lawrenceville, GA
To address an 81% increase in the number of graffiti tags in 2000, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful, Lawrenceville, GA, located just outside of Atlanta, launched a comprehensive graffiti prevention program. Since then, they have seen a consistent decrease in graffiti each year, with an 18% decrease in square feet tagged in 2005. That same year, volunteers and inmate labor removed graffiti from 971 sites.
Two innovations make this model program a stand-out. An annual survey of graffiti tags, now in its third year, allows them to measure program results. And, in coordination with the Gwinnett GIS Department, they have developed a graffiti tracking and mapping program to identify where graffiti is occurring and how frequently.
The program also has a strong education component. Through media coverage (newspapers and a PSA they developed), and the distribution of over 215,000 graffiti education fliers, including a water bill insert, they have taken the graffiti prevention message to about 700,000 residents.
City of Riverbank, Riverbank, CA
Education and innovation are the keys to Riverbank's winning program. After traditional graffiti prevention tactics didn't prove successful, the City, located in California's central valley, formed a task force, hired a code enforcement officer, and got to work on a comprehensive community effort. The result was a drop in vandalism costs to the city from $50,000 to $2,500 in just 12 months.
The "Victory over Vandalism" program included the creation of "Victor, the Anti-Vandalism Dog" and a host of new initiatives. Groups and individuals adopted walls, a call line and reward program were established, youth completed a mural on a water tank while other community members participated in a "paint-by-numbers" mural on chronically tagged wall. An education program to all third and fifth graders was also established, with youth asked to take a "Victory Over Vandalism" pledge. And, an anti-graffiti poster contest for K-8 graders received over 600 entries with the winning poster printed on a Community Awareness T-shirt.
Just 4 Kids, Key West, FL
Founded with one leader and no budget, the year-old Just 4 Kids "Art Against Graffiti" program has become a lightening rod for graffiti prevention and beautification in Key West, FL. The program engages children ages 3-17 from shelters, after school programs, and art classes to participate in a mural program-and fight graffiti vandalism.
Children learned about graffiti, what it was, and its effect on their community. Then they set to work on their own original sketches, and as a group hand painted their designs on 24 utility boxes that had become ravaged with graffiti.
Paint and supplies were donated, as were transportation buses, and drinks and snacks for the kids. The City's Mayor also visited several of the sites during painting. The result: Just 4 Kids has been invited to continue this effort on storage buildings, fire hydrants, and construction walls that have been vandalized with graffiti.
