EDMONTON – The City of Edmonton appears to have made an impact on its fight against graffiti vandalism.
An audit by Capital City Clean Up shows there was a nine per cent drop of graffiti in the top 20 Edmonton neighbourhoods from 2014 to 2015 and a 51 per cent drop from the first audit in 2010 to 2015.
Fifty-two per cent of incidents happened in the Downtown, Strathcona and McCauley neighbourhoods in 2015.
READ MORE: Tagging and graffiti vandalism going down in Edmonton
The audit also found there were 57 per cent fewer incidents of graffiti tags in Boyle Street and 72 per cent fewer in Ritchie.
“These are great results. This overall downward trend shows us that businesses, citizens and neighbourhoods are really stepping up and taking pride in our city,” Capital City Clean Up Manager Don Belanger said.
The audit identified 418 people who committed tagging, up from 400 from the previous year. Ten of those people were responsible for 20 per cent of all graffiti vandalism in 2015.
READ MORE: Three-year investigation leads to arrest of alleged Edmonton graffiti artist
“Graffiti vandalism not only degrades the appearance of a neighbourhood, it can also lead to increased crime in the area,” Const. Ryan Katchur said.
“With help from the public, the Edmonton Police Service and the City of Edmonton will help communities reduce graffiti vandalism.”
Anyone who sees graffiti vandalism is asked to call 311, make a complaint online, or take a photo and report it to the City’s 311 mobile app.
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