REGINA – In the Cathedral neighbourhood, there are murals-a-plenty. The area is lined with full-coloured paintings, some covering entire walls.
Also present in the neighbourhood is graffiti, and lots of it.
“It is vandalism, no question about that.” – Mayor Fougere
Graffiti is defined as any markings or drawings that wasn’t given permission, and whether it looks good or not, the city states it isn’t art.
“We’re going to clean up the neighbourhood where it does need to be done, with several partners who’ve worked together to get rid of graffiti on buildings in the area,” Mayor Michael Fougere explained.
Last year, the city saw 526 incidents of graffiti. Ninety-two of them were in the cathedral neighbourhood.
“There is a degree of under-reporting with respect to some crimes, and I think graffiti and mischief is one of them. Not necessarily everyone is reporting,” Regina police chief Troy Hagen said.
“I think it’s encouraging that the community is taking action, because one is one too many.”
There’s a push to take ownership and for residents to be custodians in their community. Failure to erase the vandalism can taint entire neighbourhoods.
“If you let the small things go, or in this case, graffiti, that can be damaging. And not taken care of, it’s almost license for those who want to commit crime, and do other bad things in the neighbourhood,” Fougere warned.
The city urges anyone seeing graffiti on the streets or on their property to first record it by taking a photo and then reporting it.
” We need people to let us know if they see any graffiti on our assets, and we’ll go right away to remove it,” Diana Hawryluk, city planning and development executive director, explained.
Hawryluk said it’s the onus of the property owner to remove any graffiti on their estate.
“We do have partners that give discounts, paint products and supplies, to help residents to get rid of their graffiti on their property.”
The city also suggested commissioning art murals on businesses or homes, or lining buildings with plants to help deter vandals.