By Jenna Morrison
Mayor Billings introduced a new program that will help citizens report graffiti, and ultimately cut down on gang related activity around Provo.
Billings first introduced the program in his State of the City address on January 9, 2006, and the program is now in effect.
During the address, Mayor Billings pleaded with Provo citizens to help combat the increasing graffiti problem.
“We are formally asking the resi-dents of Provo to help us crackdown on this problem,” he said. “To do so, we are announcing a new phone number residents can call, 85-CRIME, to report criminal activity in Provo.”
The goals of this new program are to determine possible gang activity and minimize graffiti around town.
?The intent of the program is to give the citizens a phone number, 85-CRIME, that is easily remembered and can be used quickly when observing any type of criminal activity, including graffiti that is in progress or delayed,? Lieutenant JD Lougee said.
When a crime is reported, the call goes to the Provo City Dispatch, center where the information is gathered from the caller, Lougee said. In response to any graffiti report, the information is then relayed to school Resource Officers who are responsible for graffiti calls.
The officer will then arrange for the graffiti to be removed as soon as possible, he said. Following the cleaning, those officers conduct an investigation in an attempt to locate the person or persons responsible for committing the act.
Mayor Billings also created a new website that will soon be available for residents to report crimes online at graffiti.provo.org.
The only information required is the location of the graffiti; providing your name and e-mail address are optional. Reports can also be made online at www.provo.org.
The Provo Police Department is hoping that efforts such as this one will help to develop a relationship with the citizens of Provo to help make the community a safer place. This can be accomplished though citizens cooperating with the new program and doing their duty to re-port crimes around their neighborhoods.
Provo Police Captain Rick Healey said the graffiti issue in Provo is an increasing concern.
?There has been a lot more graffiti than in the past, and most of it is attributed to gang activity,? he said.
According to the Provo City code, graffiti is defined as any form of unauthorized printing, writing, spraying, scratching, affixing or inscribing on the property of another, regardless of the content or nature of the mate-rial used in the commission of the act.
The code also said that in the City of Provo, graffiti is considered to be either a second or third-degree felony or a misdemeanor. Fines are assessed in various amounts to those found guilty of the crime. The average age of arrested graffiti vandals is 17-18; however, the broad range of ages is anywhere from eight to 54.
