In an effort to identify the suspect or suspects responsible for dozens of incidents of vandalism, Edmonton police are releasing photos of a specific graffiti tag.
In a news release Thursday, the Edmonton Police Service said this particular tag has appeared in more than 70 locations across the city, damaging property in west, central and southwest Edmonton.
Officers with the west division Stony Plain Road beats team noticed a rise in graffiti since the beginning of July.
These tags specifically have shown up primarily along Stony Plain Road, 124 Street, Jasper Avenue, River Valley Road and Whyte Avenue.
They’ve been sprayed on vehicles, dumpsters, buildings, underpasses and storefronts, police said.
Sometimes focusing on specific tags can end up making the issue worse, but an EPS spokesperson says the department has to make that call for each specific case.
“There’s always a little bit of that concern but we have to weigh that with the investigation,” Carolin Maran said. “In this case, we need some information, so we decided to go ahead with it.
“They’ve been investigating for a while — since the beginning of July — and they just don’t have any leads at this point on who the suspects may be and they’re unable to identify them, so they’re just looking for some help from the public.”
Officers believe the taggers are doing this vandalism overnight and in the early morning hours.
By releasing photos of the tags, police hope someone will come forward with information about the suspect or suspects’ identity.
Edmonton police also pointed out the majority of the tags pictured were not reported to the EPS but noticed by officers on patrol.
“As a result, anyone with a similar tag on their property is encouraged to file a report,” the news release said.
Police are also asking people living in the Stony Plain Road, 124 Street, Jasper Avenue, River Valley Road or Whyte Avenue areas, who may have witnessed the tagging or who may have captured video or photo footage of the taggers, to contact police.
Maran is encouraging citizens to immediately report any graffiti tagging to police.
“Reporting really helps us combat the problem because it can give us details on perhaps the date and the time, which can then lead to more information on suspects.”
Anyone with information about this graffiti is asked to call the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.