Focus On Fourth
Tag is Not a Game
By Sands Spencer
ou pull up to your shop to open up for the day and there on the side of your building is a 6-feet-long, 3-feet-high swirl of spray paint faintly resembling some initials or monogram. On the sidewalk in front are several stenciled “pictures” of anything from Jesus to pornography. Your beautiful expanse of front window has been scratched and/or etched with acid. If one or more of these has happened to you, you’ve been “tagged”, and you know the feelings of frustration, disappointment and anger that follow. Dealing with graffiti is an expensive and on-going problem throughout Tucson (and most cities).
Here in the downtown area we deal with more than our share of graffiti. Perhaps “deal with” is a euphemistic phrase for many of us, since we don’t know how to approach the issue. TPD has organized a data collection division that is concentrating on our graffiti problem, collecting dates and pictures of graffiti so that they can link cases and prosecute individuals for multiple infractions. The plain truth is that the police pretty much have to catch the individual in the act of committing the crime, which means being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time (usually 4:00 a.m.).
The city graffiti removal hotline (624-7833) is one resource for covering painted graffiti, but it has been our experience on 4th Avenue that response time ranges from days to weeks, and that is not optimum. The graffiti or “tagger” culture is one that places importance on public display; they want others to see their work, their signature. For this to happen it has to remain in the public realm, the longer the better. The quicker you can remove their work the less satisfaction they get out of their defacement of your property and the quicker they will try a different area where their work will stay up longer.
The graffiti in and around downtown comes in three basic forms: paint; glass scratching; and acid glass etching.
Paint is the easiest to deal with as it can usually be removed with a product such as “Goof-Off” or simply painted over. It pays to keep a can of paint matching the color(s) of your building and a few cheap brushes around for these impromptu touch-up sessions. In cases of heavy concrete painting we have found a dilute mixture of muriatic acid (available at pool supply stores) gets the paint out of the porous concrete surface. Be very careful and follow all directions when using this approach.
Scratched glass problems usually mean window replacement. It is possible to buff out shallow scratches, but to buff out deeper scratching usually is more expensive than window replacement. In many cases glass scratching is more vandalism than graffiti…that is to say there are no recognizable signs or symbols in the scratches, they were done just to destroy something.
The latest fad is acid etching of the glass. This leaves a milky area similar to frosted glass but smooth. This method is gaining in popularity and we are seeing a lot of it on 4th Avenue. Acid damage responds to buffing (even hand rubbing) with glass restoration products much better than scratches and can usually be repaired at minimum expense. It is worth mentioning that when you first notice this type of attack you should immediately wash the area with soap and water (gloves are a good idea). The acid used for this type of etching continues to work for hours after it is applied and the sooner it is removed the shallower the etching will be and the less elbow grease will be needed to rub the damage out.
For those who prefer to take the proactive approach to fighting graffiti there are several protective films on the market that are perfectly clear and protect your window from scratches, acid, and paint. With one of these films if it gets damaged it is a simple (and relatively inexpensive) matter to peel it off and have it replaced with more film; the glass underneath remains pristine. Cameras mounted inside the store facing the windows can often times give a useable image of the criminal for the police to use in their search, and will sometimes deter the crime if the window is posted with a notice that the premises is protected by cameras.
So, when you pull up to your business in the morning and see that you’ve been tagged remember that you are not alone in your battle to keep your business looking decent. Over half the businesses on 4th Avenue have been tagged in the last few months, many more than once, and the same problems are faced by shop owners all across Tucson and in every major city in the U.S. Your part of the solution is to take the steps you can afford to prevent it from happening and to keep the materials at hand needed to quickly repair the damage done.
[Editor’s Note: The Tucson Downtown Alliance addresses graffiti in the Downtown BID area. Large “tags” are documented, photographed and submitted to TPD by the TDA Security Department, then TDA’s maintenance crews remove or paint over the graffiti. To report graffiti Downtown, call the TDA at 547-3338. TDA will use your own matching paint if you provide it.]
