February 21, 2005
COMMENTARY: Crimes and misdemeanors | Portland takes aim at perpetrators of so-called "quality of life" crimes
By Janis Beitzer
Executive director, Portland's Downtown District
Downtown Portland is experiencing strong growth and pursuing revitalization with zeal. We know the city can be a premier, highly desirable place to live and invest, but we need to concentrate on solving smaller problems such as graffiti before we can reach our full potential.
In the early 1990s, cities like New York made significant progress in cleaning up their business districts by concentrating on solving smaller problems such as graffiti, peeling paint, broken windows, run-down facades, panhandling, noise, litter, public drunkenness and public urination.
The impetus for this push was Fixing Broken Windows, a startling study (and, later, a book) by the husband-and-wife team of George Kelling, a professor at Northeastern University and Catherine Coles, an anthropologist and research lawyer, that found that reducing these types of crimes resulted in a significant reduction in more serious crimes, such as robberies, drug dealing and other felonies. Kelling and Coles also found that when the appearance of disorder is reduced, financial re-investment in downtowns rebounded.
Investors and potential residents became more willing to consider investing or living downtown. The end result, across the United States, was an infusion of capital that downtowns have been seeking to regain for the past 25 years.
Downtown Portland is no different than other cities in working to correct these problems, primarily under the auspices of Portland's Downtown District. The district, an assessment-based nonprofit organization, was established in 1992 to augment city services downtown. Our goals include improving the downtown's appearance, improving safety, marketing downtown as a visitor destination and producing special events.
In order to eliminate such common problems as litter, weeds and graffiti, we work closely with city government and property owners. In particular, we have forged a strong partnership with city government to address one highly visible problem that plagues downtown: graffiti. We believe graffiti is an act of vandalism that negatively impacts the quality of life that downtown Portland has worked so hard to develop.
We also know that graffiti must be removed as soon as possible, as research shows that the longer graffiti remains at a location, the higher the chance that vandals will strike again.
For the last few years, PDD has worked with the city of Portland and the nonprofit organization Portland West to remove graffiti. We have painted, washed and sandblasted both public and private property. Portland West has been invaluable to downtown property owners, providing free removal services. However, property owners also need to take this problem seriously and do the following:
ˆ Remove graffiti as soon as possible. If you can remove it yourself, please do so. If not, call PDD and we'll contact Portland West.
ˆ Create an access barrier ˆ vegetation or fencing that will make it difficult for vandals to reach the exterior of your building.
ˆ Increase building and sidewalk lighting, and add cameras. Cameras send a signal to would-be vandals that the property is being watched. If the camera has a taping capability, then the tape can be given to the police after an incident to help identify the criminal.
ˆ Apply protective coating to windows, which helps prevent most spray paint from adhering.
ˆ Deny access to fire escapes and keep them well lit to deter vandals.
But as important as prevention and timely cleanup are, if we're going to eliminate graffiti we also need greater involvement by the police department, to make more arrests, and by the courts, to prosecute vandals who are arrested.
We ask property owners to report graffiti to the police before removing it. This way, the police can investigate each incident and arrests can be made when possible. Portland Police Chief Mike Chitwood is very supportive of efforts to reign in crimes of disorder such as graffiti.
Next, the courts need to prosecute individuals who are caught defacing property. At the very least, individuals who are convicted must be held responsible for reimbursing the property owner or the city for the cleanup costs. In addition, they should be required to do community service such as removing graffiti.
When the courts recognize the relationship between crimes of disorder and the more serious crime that results over time when disorder is allowed to fester, then it becomes much easier to assign limited court resources to prosecuting these types of crimes.
As it is with many issues, you can pay now or pay later.
In 2005, we will pursue this issue aggressively, as we believe that solving such a visible problem is critical to achieving the next level of growth in Portland.
Downtown Portland is experiencing strong growth and pursuing revitalization with zeal. We know the city can be a premier, highly desirable place to live and invest, but we need to concentrate on solving smaller problems such as graffiti before we can reach our full potential.
In the early 1990s, cities like New York made significant progress in cleaning up their business districts by concentrating on solving smaller problems such as graffiti, peeling paint, broken windows, run-down facades, panhandling, noise, litter, public drunkenness and public urination.
The impetus for this push was Fixing Broken Windows, a startling study (and, later, a book) by the husband-and-wife team of George Kelling, a professor at Northeastern University and Catherine Coles, an anthropologist and research lawyer, that found that reducing these types of crimes resulted in a significant reduction in more serious crimes, such as robberies, drug dealing and other felonies. Kelling and Coles also found that when the appearance of disorder is reduced, financial re-investment in downtowns rebounded.
Investors and potential residents became more willing to consider investing or living downtown. The end result, across the United States, was an infusion of capital that downtowns have been seeking to regain for the past 25 years.
Downtown Portland is no different than other cities in working to correct these problems, primarily under the auspices of Portland's Downtown District. The district, an assessment-based nonprofit organization, was established in 1992 to augment city services downtown. Our goals include improving the downtown's appearance, improving safety, marketing downtown as a visitor destination and producing special events.
In order to eliminate such common problems as litter, weeds and graffiti, we work closely with city government and property owners. In particular, we have forged a strong partnership with city government to address one highly visible problem that plagues downtown: graffiti. We believe graffiti is an act of vandalism that negatively impacts the quality of life that downtown Portland has worked so hard to develop.
We also know that graffiti must be removed as soon as possible, as research shows that the longer graffiti remains at a location, the higher the chance that vandals will strike again.
For the last few years, PDD has worked with the city of Portland and the nonprofit organization Portland West to remove graffiti. We have painted, washed and sandblasted both public and private property. Portland West has been invaluable to downtown property owners, providing free removal services. However, property owners also need to take this problem seriously and do the following:
ˆ Remove graffiti as soon as possible. If you can remove it yourself, please do so. If not, call PDD and we'll contact Portland West.
ˆ Create an access barrier ˆ vegetation or fencing that will make it difficult for vandals to reach the exterior of your building.
ˆ Increase building and sidewalk lighting, and add cameras. Cameras send a signal to would-be vandals that the property is being watched. If the camera has a taping capability, then the tape can be given to the police after an incident to help identify the criminal.
ˆ Apply protective coating to windows, which helps prevent most spray paint from adhering.
ˆ Deny access to fire escapes and keep them well lit to deter vandals.
But as important as prevention and timely cleanup are, if we're going to eliminate graffiti we also need greater involvement by the police department, to make more arrests, and by the courts, to prosecute vandals who are arrested.
We ask property owners to report graffiti to the police before removing it. This way, the police can investigate each incident and arrests can be made when possible. Portland Police Chief Mike Chitwood is very supportive of efforts to reign in crimes of disorder such as graffiti.
Next, the courts need to prosecute individuals who are caught defacing property. At the very least, individuals who are convicted must be held responsible for reimbursing the property owner or the city for the cleanup costs. In addition, they should be required to do community service such as removing graffiti.
When the courts recognize the relationship between crimes of disorder and the more serious crime that results over time when disorder is allowed to fester, then it becomes much easier to assign limited court resources to prosecuting these types of crimes.
As it is with many issues, you can pay now or pay later.
In 2005, we will pursue this issue aggressively, as we believe that solving such a visible problem is critical to achieving the next level of growth in Portland.
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments