Nashville Gang Member Sentences Draw National Attention
Take a look around our city. Have you noticed the graffiti? If you’re like most Metro residents, you probably dismiss graffiti when you see it, thinking it’s just the result of some high school prank or kids with too much time on their hands.
You may even wonder if someone has reported it or when someone is going to get rid of it. That “someone” can be you.
Graffiti is a crime, and those colorful letters, symbols and numbers you’ve been driving by every day may signal a meaning that is more sinister than creative. They could be the work of a tagger, or it might be gang-related.
Either way, graffiti is harmful to our city and our neighborhoods.
- It drains tax dollars that Metro Government and the State of Tennessee could be using for other things.
- It lowers property values, and contributes to the misperception that a neighborhood is “run down” and not safe to be in.
- And it sends the wrong message that nobody cares, often attracting other types of crime and delinquency to a neighborhood.
- Remove graffiti from your property as soon as possible.
- Call Metro’s Graffiti Hotline – 880-2444 – to report graffiti.
- Report graffiti on-line at http://www.nashville.gov/pw/talktous/default.aspx
- Tell Metro about graffiti on property other than your own, such as traffic signs, businesses, trash receptacles, power boxes, fences, etc.
- Encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same.
Read graffiti. Letters, symbols and numbers – and their combinations – can have different meanings. Learn the difference between graffiti posted by a tagger and what could be gang members marking territory or sending a message to a rival.
Record where and when it occurs. Write down specific locations, a nearby address or closest intersection, as well as what the graffiti is painted on. If possible, take a photo that can be emailed to the Task Force.
Report it to authorities by calling or emailing Metro’s Graffiti Task Force. The hotline number is 880-2444. The website link is www.nashville.gov/pw/talktous/default.aspx
Remove it within 24-72 hours. Immediate removal is the best remedy, police say. Taggers will know someone is watching and they won’t come back to risk getting caught. Leaving gang-related graffiti in place will only attract more graffiti, usually from a rival. Removing it right away will send them the message to move on.
Visit www.graffitihurts.org for more information and graffiti abatement resources.
What else can you do?
Limit access to your property
Increase exterior lighting
Plant low growing shrubs or “prickly” plants around your building or fence
Adopt a block, building, street corner or other spot and keep it graffiti free
Metro Beautification and Environment can help organize a “Paint the Town” event and other community volunteer efforts to remove graffiti. Just call 862-8418.