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.
As part of National Optimism Month in March, we’re blogging five reasons why our customers should be loving us in 2010. We see so many reasons to be optimistic about the coming months, from exciting new technologies to our efforts to make sure every alarm is a real alarm. We’re excited about this year and here’s why.
5 Reasons To Love Us in 2010
1. Business is good and we’re focusing on customer service. Even in this down economy, we’re growing and we are paying special attention to your needs. We want to hear from you on this blog, our Facebook page, or our Twitter account. How can we serve you better?
2. Speaking of social networking, we HEART our 344 fans on Facebook and our 470 followers on Twitter. We share safety tips, insider news, and fun facts on both, as well as responding to customer praise or complaints. Come join the online party.
3. New technologies are helping people feel more secure. We’re now offering customers the ability to stream live video of their homes to a BlackBerry or iPhone or watch video clips online. They can even arm and disarm remotely (and more!).
4. We’re providing better protection against unethical scammers. This summer will be a test of our efforts to stop what we call “summer slamming.” This is when unscrupulous door-to-door security sales people try to rip you off and trick you into “switching” service. We’re getting more assertive in stopping this practice. Learn more at www.monitronics.com/securityscam.
5. We’re saving lives. Our award-winning monitoring center had an average response time of just 22.1 seconds in 2009 and in an emergency, every second counts. You can trust Monitronics with your safety.
This is why WE think our customers will love us in 2010. What’s your opinion? Leave us a comment and let us know.
Most folks don’t realize it, but one of the most effective crime deterrents is a little piece of metal. A Monitronics yard sign let’s criminals know that your home or business is protected 24/7 by our award-winning central station.
Some people buy fake signs on the Internet, hoping for some protection that way, but bad guys visit the same sites you do and know which signs are real and which ones are pseudo. Monitronics has been around for 15 years and is a known player in the industry. Our signs mean business.
Criminals look for easy marks and your monitored alarm system let’s them know your place is off limits. You’re a harder target. To get the most out of your yard sign, remember these things:
If you need a new yard sign, call customer service at 800-447-9239 and we’ll send you one right away.
