Is grafitti art or vandalism? It can be as simple as a few words or images sprayed or scrawled on a surface, like a fence or a wall (or a building, which makes people quite unhappy). It can be complex as full color, elaborate murals. The debate rages on the art versus vandalism question, but one form of graffiti is generally agreed to be more dangerous than the rest: gang tagging or gang graffiti.

Gang tagging is when someone marks a place with some sort of image or word that indicates gang territory, fights between rivals or collaborations, or as a way of marketing street drugs. It can mean that you’re in the cross hairs of danger. Plus it’s ugly and makes a neighborhood look trashy.

Many police departments offer graffiti control programs–check with your city to see if they can provide you with more information on how to prevent graffiti vandalism. Here are our tips.

How can you keep graffiti out of your neighborhood?
* Call your local police or sheriff and report all vandalism.
* Remove or paint over any graffiti on your property right away after taking a pictures of it.
* Educate your child about this crime.
* Help neighbors in graffiti removal.

For Business Owners
* Protect spray paint from theft–consider locking the up. And remember not to sell them to minors.
* Place signs in the spray paint area about the penalties for graffiti vandalism.
* Keep spray paint displays in an area that is easily seen by employees.

How to Remove Graffiti
* Keep matching paint on hand so you can cover it right away.
* For glass or previously painted metal surfaces, use MEK (methylethyl ketone) to remove graffiti.
* Ask your local hardware store for other graffiti removal products for glass, unpainted metal surfaces, brick, and cinder block.

What if You See a Tagger in Action?
* DO NOT speak to or attempt to stop the person.
* Get a good description of the person and get a license plate number if possible for police.
* Call 911 to report a vandalism-in-process.

Monitronics celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8 by being a gold sponsor at an inspirational event.

The annual Conference on Crimes Against Women (CCAW) was held in Dallas, Texas, March 8-10at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel in Downtown.

The conference serves to educate and inspire those who are in and those who support law enforcement. Prosecutors, medical personnel, social workers, police officers, forensic examiners, and victims’ advocates from across the country were in attendance.

The cause is an important one to us at Monitronics because we are committed to protecting women and all people from violence. In the United States, an estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year. One in six women will experience a sexual assault or an attempted sexual assault. One in 12 women has been stalked in their lifetime. Almost one third of female homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner.

The Monitronics informational table saw dozens of visitors who learned about our award-winning monitored alarm services and our efforts to partner with law enforcement. Several employees manned the table to show support and learn how we can be of assistance in communities across America.

The key note speaker was the Honorable Judge Ronald Adrine, an acting Judge in Ohio and co-chair for the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence. Judge Adrine set the tone for the conference which was advocating for top-notch police work, followed by committed prosecutions using the latest in technology to ensure convictions of violent offenders.

CCAW organizers left no stone unturned when selecting workshop topics and speakers. Attendees were able to receive continuing education credits for attending workshops such as:

* The Change Process for Abusive Men
* Women in Gangs
* The Power of DNA Technology in Solving Crimes
* Sex Offender Registration: What you need to know
* Ethical Considerations for Prosecutors in Sexual Assault cases
* Case Study: The Bike Path Rapist

Workshops were led by experienced professionals including:
* Jennifer Markowitz, Forensic Nurse
* Bob Morton, FBI
* Sergeant Chuck Young of the Dallas PD
* Jodi Rafkin, National Center for Victims of Crime
* Christine Mansour, Human Rights Initiative of North Texas
* Dottie Laster US Attorney’s Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance
* Kristen Anderson, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

The Conference on Crimes Against Women was founded in 2005 by the Dallas Police Department and the Genesis Women’s Shelter.

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We’ve mentioned it before: good neighbors make good security. And what better way to get good neighbors than to start a crime watch program if you don’t have one?

How to Start a Neighborhood Crime Watch

1. Think about the things you want to accomplish: get to know each other? Talk about  crime? Start a patrol? Organize a committee?

2. Pick a date. Evenings are best, around 7 p.m. Schedule the meeting in someone’s home so neighbors can walk and feel comfortable in their own surroundings. You’ll also increase attendance. If no one is willing to host, consider a local church or public space. At least 30% participation is required to organize your group.

3. Call your local police department and ask an officer to attend. That officer is a wealth of information, from crime statistics and prevention tips to community policing, and information about how the police can help deter crime. In particular, ask the officer to address what is needed when calling the police about a suspicious person or vehicle.

4. Make a flyer, one for each home or apartment. This is to inform everyone of the meeting; the brochure speaks to the implementation of Neighborhood Watch. Your local police department may have ready-made brochures for you to distribute. Be sure to ask.

5. At the meeting, identify a neighborhood chairperson and organize the first meeting. Set up a telephone chain to be shared with neighbors participating in the crime watch. The chain is a list of phone numbers and addresses, as well as any special information about that location. This is how people stay in touch and it is a critical part of the program.

6. Ask if the police can provide crime watch signs, house stickers, or t-shirts for your group.

7. Set up a regular time for meetings each month and make plans to distribute the telephone chain.

This is not an easy process, but it’s one of the best things that can happen to a neighborhood!