City official says a “heavy handed” anti-graffiti strategy is not fair

The City of Windsor will not fine business owners who fail to remove graffiti from their buildings.

One city official said the decrease in graffiti appearing on buildings in the city can be credited to not being “heavy-handed” in their anti-graffiti strategy.

According to an Orangeville.com article that city’s proposed anti-graffiti bylaw, if approved as drafted by the vandalism committee, would fine property owners between $400 and $100,000 if they fail to comply with an order to clean up within 48 hours.

“I think the measure where you would heavily fine businesses who don’t remove graffiti in an expeditious fashion would be heavy handed,” said Ward 4 Coun. Alan Halberstat. “Basically businesses are the victims of the graffiti too. To me that would be punishing them severely.”

Halberstadt said the City of Windsor provides funding of approximately $40,000 to $50,000 to support the Wipe Out Graffiti campaign operated by St. Leonard’s House, a member agency of the United Way.

A private contractor, partnered with the Good Neighbour program, goes door to door and provides free labour if the property owner agrees to provide the paint for the removal.

“If the businesses refuse to cooperate for a fair amount of time then we can charge them under the property standard bylaw,” said Halberstadt.

He said lending assistance to property owners is the most effective strategy for Windsor.

“There’s a graffiti issue pretty much everywhere … it does sort of peak and valley quite a bit over the years,” Barry Horrobin, director of planning and physical resources for Windsor Police Service.

Horrobin is recognized as an expert in the field of crime prevention through environmental design. He said he has seen a decrease in graffiti vandalism in the city.

“The key to graffiti is how fast the affected property owner cleans it up,” said Horrobin. “Two weeks is an eternity for a big ugly tag, graffiti tag, to be on your building in your neighbourhood.”

He said by not removing the graffiti quickly the act of vandalism is tolerated and does nothing to prevent the behaviour from continuing.

“I don’t care how beautiful it is, if you didn’t get consent from the property owner, that’s graffiti, that’s tagging, that’s not right,” said Horrobin.

A local graffiti artist who goes by the pseudonym Smile said he understands the risks involved in his work, but won’t let it deter him from sharing his art with Windsorites.

“My work all consists of the word/motif of ‘SMILE’ which is meant to have a positive impact on the area,” said Smile in an e-mail. “Opposed to traditional graffiti with tags or some sort of gang connotation.”

Smile displays his graffiti on public buildings or high exposure areas “usually near main roads, intersections or places with busy foot traffic” as well as abandoned or derelict buildings.