Forest Terrace Heights may have a lot of graffiti complaints – but they don’t have a lot of graffiti.
Last year the community filed 53 complaints about graffiti and vandalism through Edmonton’s 311 service, compared to just 11 the previous year, according to 311 data released last month.
“We have been encouraging people to make complaints when they see stuff,” said Rae Hall, president of the Forest Terrace Heights Community League.
She said there’s very little vandalism in the community, despite the jump in complaints.
Hall knows firsthand how reporting graffiti – and reporting it quickly – can make a long-term difference in a neighbourhood.
“When I first moved to the neighbourhood, constantly I was seeing graffiti in this one spot,” said Hall. “First you got one spray of graffiti, then you got another, and it just kind of started to spiral out of control.”
Hall finally reported the vandalism, and the graffiti was cleaned up. But the problem persisted.
“A couple weeks later, there was some more graffiti,” said Hall. “I called it in immediately, it was cleaned up immediately, and we actually haven’t had anything on that building since.”
The culture of reporting vandalism in Forest Terrace Heights is indicative of a larger trend in the City of Edmonton. Graffiti and vandalism complaints across the city were up 35 per cent in 2014 compared to the previous year, according to 311 call data released last month.
Rate of graffiti and vandalism complaints in Edmonton in 2013 by ward, according to 311 call data.
Rate of graffiti and vandalism complaints in Edmonton in 2014 by ward, according to 311 call data.
Those complaints might be leading to less graffiti and vandalism in Edmonton. The City of Edmonton’s most recent graffiti audit says incidents of graffiti and vandalism have been declining steadily since 2010.
“We really encourage awareness in the community of recording, reporting and removing graffiti,” said Katie Hayes, graffiti project manager for Edmonton’s Capital City Clean Up program. “The faster we can get citizens to report it, the faster we can get it removed from properties.”
Since the launch of the graffiti management program in the spring of 2008, Edmonton has implemented services to support residents and private property owners affected by graffiti and vandalism, said Hayes. The graffiti wipe out program brings together volunteer groups who paint over graffiti at no cost to the property owner.
Residents can also apply for a free graffiti clean up kit, which includes painting supplies and discount coupons to Rona. The number of kits ordered by residents more than doubled between 2014 and the previous year, according to Hayes.
Ward 6 Coun. Scott McKeen says these programs, in addition to the launch of the City’s 311 app last summer, have encouraged Edmonton residents to report problems in their community.
“We have programs in place like the 311 app and like Capital City Clean Up that are really raising awareness,” said McKeen, who serves Downtown Edmonton. The rate of graffiti and vandalism complaints in McKeen’s ward more than doubled between 2013 and 2014, according to 311 call data.
“The ward is really starting to come alive, revitalize, and people’s standards are going up. There’s a reason Edmonton was called Deadmonton in 2001,” said McKeen.
He says addressing concerns in the community is just part of a new engaged citizenry.
“It’s a good sign, people are reporting things. With the amount of new residential buildings downtown with young families moving into the area,” said McKeen. “Things that people passed by years ago without making any noise, maybe people are reporting it now. Whether it’s graffiti or some other form of vandalism.”
“I suspect rather than us having a spree of vandalism, we just have a community that’s more sensitive to it and more likely to report it.”