Anti-Graffiti Task Force formed in Fallbrook

FALLBROOK — In a collaborative effort between the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and a number of Fallbrook community groups, including the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce, the Fallbrook Rotary Anti-Graffiti Enforcement Program, Keep Fallbrook Clean and Green, the Fallbrook Beautification Alliance and the Fallbrook Union Elementary School District, a new program has been formed to address the problem of graffiti in Fallbrook and to expedite its removal.

Named the Fallbrook Anti-Graffiti Task Force, the new organization is creating a variety of strategies to remove, reduce and prevent graffiti. Included among the strategies: a parent outreach program through the local school districts to educate parents about graffiti and gang activity and to enlist parents in the fight against graffiti; expansion of the highly successful Crime Stoppers Program to include financial incentives for the anonymous reporting of graffiti activity that results in an arrest; a community-wide campaign to encourage residents to report graffiti immediately and even remove graffiti in their own immediate neighborhood, if possible; a publicity campaign to educate residents on graffiti and how to combat it; the expansion of the Rotary’s Anti-Graffiti Enforcement (RAGE) Program to include additional volunteers who will paint out graffiti; and the development of a newly streamlined graffiti reporting system.

Bob Leonard, CEO of the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce, and Janice Shultz, Superintendent of the Fallbrook Union Elementary School District, are working to develop the parent outreach aspect of the program, while the Chamber’s Board of Directors is working on developing the funds for the Crime Stoppers Rewards.

Crime Stoppers is a nationwide program that has had dramatic results in not only reducing crime but also in solving crimes. This highly successful program is based on the simple principle that for every crime committed, someone other than the criminal has information that would solve it.

The three key elements to Crime Stoppers are: 1) report the crime, 2) remain anonymous and 3) collect a cash reward; Crime Stoppers pays up to $1,000 for any information that leads to the arrest of a suspect for a felony crime. Local efforts are also underway to develop monetary rewards for information leading to a misdemeanor arrest.

The expansion of the RAGE Program involves dividing the Fallbrook community into sectors, led by individual volunteers who will be contacted once a graffiti report is received by the Sheriff’s Station. Local churches and community organizations are also being contacted to enlist their participation as volunteers in the graffiti removal program. These volunteers will be trained to identify the various types of graffiti and how to most effectively remove the graffiti.

Anyone who wishes to report existing graffiti should call the Sheriff’s Department Senior Volunteers at (760) 451-3144. To report an act of graffiti vandalism in progress, call the Sheriff’s dispatch number, (760) 728-1113.

To access Crime Stoppers call (888) 580-TIPS.

To learn more about the Anti-Graffiti Task Force and how to become a part of the solution, call the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce at (760) 728-5845.