Peachtree City Departments Crack Down on Graffiti

Several Peachtree City government departments are teaming up to stop the recent proliferation of graffiti. In the past six months this form of vandalism has significantly increased in volume throughout the city and citizens are asked for assistance.

“We’re asking people to report any new graffiti to us immediately upon seeing it, or if they see it in progress,” said Police Chief H.C. “Skip” Clark II. “We are documenting and tracking incidents so we can best determine how to counter this trend.”

Citizens can call the Police Department at 770-487-8866; the Recreation Department at 770-631-2542; Public Works at 770-487-5183; or City Hall at 770-487-7657 to report vandalism in any form.

Incidents of graffiti have increased in city cart path tunnels, on park playground equipment, in public restrooms, on walls of buildings, on traffic signs, on trash cans, on subdivision signs and even in the bathroom at the Library. Each incident of graffiti requires from one to several hours of work to clean it up. This is a chore that generally falls on Public Works or Parks maintenance crews.

“Our crews have their hands full just trying to accomplish the routine maintenance required to keep this city looking clean and well kept,” said Randy Gaddo, Leisure Services Director. “Our goal is to clean up graffiti within a day or two of finding it. When we have to stop what we’re doing to clean graffiti, that means something else important isn’t getting done.”

Often repainting an entire structure or replacing signs is necessary to eliminate the unsightly remains of graffiti. The ability to remove graffiti depends on what sort of paint was used and what surface it was applied to.

“This gets costly to citizens, in materials, equipment needed and man hours required to put things back in order,” said Tom Corbett, Public Services Director.

There are several steps being taken to apprehend graffiti vandals, who will be prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows. There are plans to deploy roving hidden cameras to catch them in the act. Police and parks monitors will focus patrols on sites where this vandalism is occurring. Other city staff will be on the look out for evidence of graffiti and report it immediately. However, one of the best deterrents is citizens who will report vandalism in progress or after the fact.

“We can’t be everywhere at once, but citizens are out there all the time so we’re depending on them to report incidents to us,” said Clark. “Help us help you save your tax dollars.”

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