City to Use Hotline in Anti-Graffiti Effort

The city has revived a moribund graffiti removal program and established a hotline to cope with a widening graffiti problem.

Since the county bankruptcy forced the municipal government to put graffiti abatement on hold, the city has seen graffiti spread from a few concentrated areas to a broader cross-section, according to Chris Becker, director of public works.

“We don’t have a huge problem, but we’ve seen it moving around to the whole city, where before it would be in just a few target areas,” Becker said. “It’s becoming citywide and we want to address it.”

Placentia had spent between $70,000 and $100,000 a year on graffiti removal before the program was suspended, according to city Maintenance Supervisor Geoff Cobbett.

The City Council has approved a $40,000 budget for graffiti removal for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Becker expects the city’s first graffiti hotline to be in operation by Jan. 15. By calling (714) 630-8693, residents will be able to report graffiti.

The city offers a reward of up to $500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone spreading graffiti on city property.

“Over the last weekend, we’ve arrested six people for graffiti in the city,” Police Chief Manuel Ortega told council members Tuesday night. “Interestingly enough, not a single one of them lived in the city of Placentia.”

As part of the city’s new graffiti program, city maintenance workers can enter private property to remove graffiti.

“If the owners don’t respond to us within 36 hours, at that time we can go on there legally and just paint it out or remove it,” Cobbett said.