Garcetti Announces District Graffiti Count
- and Lowers It

September 11, 2004

Councilmember Eric Garcetti brought together neighborhood leaders of his innovative anti-graffiti program Uniting Neighborhoods To Abolish Graffiti (UNTAG) Saturday for a clear statement of the challenges that face the 13th Council District. After a presentation of the recent block-by-block tag count of the district's streets, Garcetti joined block captains from the UNTAG program to commence a day of graffiti paint-outs.

"The numbers we heard today are higher than anyone could have expected, but my commitment to cutting graffiti in half in two years is undiminished," said Councilmember Garcetti. "So pass the paint roller and let's get started!"

For the graffiti count, held earlier this summer, District 13 staffers covered every block of the district, using a consistent methodology to count tags. The count yielded a total of 20,763 tags, or about 1500 per square mile. By comparison, San Jose, the city whose anti-graffiti-efforts UNTAG draws upon, reached about 400 tags per square mile in its first count.

The count broke down on these lines by neighborhood:

"What's great about UNTAG is that it gives me the tools I need to stop graffiti in my neighborhood," said Frank Hilton, an UNTAG block captain who has presided over a dramatic decline in the tag count in his East Hollywood neighborhood. "On my first day as an UNTAG block Captain, I reported 6 pages of graffiti. Now I can find only 3 or 4 tags to report from my neighborhood at one time. I've had to start going to other neighborhoods to find graffiti!"

Uniting Neighborhoods To Abolish Graffiti (UNTAG) is the district- wide campaign, built on a program of block captain responsibilities, rapid response and targeted enforcement to fulfill Councilmember Eric Garcetti's pledge to cut graffiti in half in two years.

For more information please see: http://www.lacity.org/council/cd13/untag.htm