Peachtree City departments crack down on graffiti

Fri, 06/13/2008 - 3:44pm
By: The Citizen

Peachtree City cracks down on graffiti

Several Peachtree City government departments are teaming up to stop the recent proliferation of graffiti. In the past six months this form of vandalism has significantly increased in volume throughout the city and citizens are asked for assistance.

We’re asking people to report any new graffiti to us immediately upon seeing it, or if they see it in progress,” said Police Chief H.C. “Skip” Clark II. “We are documenting and tracking incidents so we can best determine how to counter this trend.”

Citizens can call the Police Department at 770-487-8866; the Recreation Department at 770-631-2542; Public Works at 770-487-5183; or City Hall at 770-487-7657 to report vandalism in any form.

Incidents of graffiti have increased in city cart path tunnels, on park playground equipment, in public restrooms, on walls of buildings, on traffic signs, on trash cans, on subdivision signs and even in the bathroom at the Library. Each incident of graffiti requires from one to several hours of work to clean it up. This is a chore that generally falls on Public Works or Parks maintenance crews.

“Our crews have their hands full just trying to accomplish the routine maintenance required to keep this city looking clean and well kept,” said Randy Gaddo, Leisure Services Director. “Our goal is to clean up graffiti within a day or two of finding it. When we have to stop what we’re doing to clean graffiti, that means something else important isn’t getting done.”

Often repainting an entire structure or replacing signs is necessary to eliminate the unsightly remains of graffiti. The ability to remove graffiti depends on what sort of paint was used and what surface it was applied to.

“This gets costly to citizens, in materials, equipment needed and man hours required to put things back in order,” said Tom Corbett, Public Services Director.

There are several steps being taken to apprehend graffiti vandals, who will be prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows. There are plans to deploy roving hidden cameras to catch them in the act. Police and parks monitors will focus patrols on sites where this vandalism is occurring. Other city staff will be on the look out for evidence of graffiti and report it immediately. However, one of the best deterrents is citizens who will report vandalism in progress or after the fact.

“We can’t be everywhere at once, but citizens are out there all the time so we’re depending on them to report incidents to us,” said Clark. “Help us help you save your tax dollars.”

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Submitted by irunthis on Wed, 06/18/2008 - 12:30am.

Are there any type of rewards for information leading to arrests?

Submitted by Spyglass on Wed, 06/18/2008 - 10:19am.

The reward is that our City looks better and a goofball is taught a lesson.

k0bra's picture
Submitted by k0bra on Tue, 06/17/2008 - 12:09pm.

the comments are hilarious. there are no gangs. you are all delusional. have fun rounding up your "gangs" when it's not even gangs at all. it's your 15 year old kids sneaking out at night. Laughing out loud


sniffles5's picture
Submitted by sniffles5 on Mon, 06/16/2008 - 3:33pm.

I took a long golf cart ride yesterday in Peachtree City. I was surprised and disappointed at the huge increase in graffitti on virtually every underpass and tunnel, particularly near the Kedron Village shopping center.

I did note that about 1/3 of all the "tagging" appears to be the work of "BKK", which is the airport symbol for Bangkok Thailand...how many Thai gangsta wannabees can there be in PTC?


The 5-0's picture
Submitted by The 5-0 on Mon, 06/16/2008 - 6:19pm.

BKK are most likely his initials.

Also- all of the graffiti appears to be gang-names only, not specific gang territory tagging.


Submitted by weissfamily5 on Wed, 06/18/2008 - 9:54am.

I agree BKK are probably his initials but i am also seeing other "gang" symbols like KGA and others is there more gangs than we thought?

k0bra's picture
Submitted by k0bra on Wed, 06/18/2008 - 10:05am.

no because it's not gang related... it's quite simple really.

try googling a few key words for instance to greater educate you lost souls on what is really going on:

"tagging" , "bombing" , "throw-ups"

thank you & have a great day in your ignorance of cultures!!


Submitted by McGerkin88 on Sun, 06/15/2008 - 7:20am.

1. A group of criminals or hoodlums who band together for mutual protection and profit.
2. A group of adolescents who band together, especially a group of delinquents.

Ask Rudy Giuliani! They're here.

yardman5508's picture
Submitted by yardman5508 on Sun, 06/15/2008 - 10:02am.

that gangs are increasing their presence here, I fail to see what asking Rudy G. about it can, in anyway, help us with our situation. Keep the faith.

Even a dead fish can go with the flow.


Submitted by McGerkin88 on Sun, 06/15/2008 - 12:43pm.

I referenced Rudy Giuliani for a very good reason. He recognized a problem, the start of gang type acts (such as graffiti) and developed a plan of action and implemented it. From one of his speeches on gangs “it's important that we deal with this now, before it gets any larger.”

Yes, I recognize that our little Fayetteville, Fayette County is on a much smaller scale. But don’t we have an obligation to our children to at least listen and learn? There are 3 Sheriff Candidates that seem to be running on the status quo mentality. And yes, I totally agree that we need to elect a DA that is not soft on crime. I want to be kept safe and more importantly I do want to feel safe our property values protected and schools protected.
At least Simmons has a plan of action which includes: prevention training programs, develop a Crime Prevention Unit, getting the community involved, work with community leaders, senior citizens, teens, parents, children, business owners, executives, police, government officials and religious leaders. And, states that team involvement in all facets is essential which will include PTC!

BTW, I am one who did not actually consider Simmons what-so-ever. I was dragged early on to an event held last January. I went, I listened, I asked some tough questions, I continued to read articles and I continue to do so.

Happy Father's Day to all you Dads.

Submitted by tikigod on Sun, 06/15/2008 - 7:29pm.

I understand your complaints about the status quo mentality. But I think it is unfair to lump Mindar into that group. He recognizes the sharp increase in the criminal element in town and wants to pursue it head on. More aggressive law enforcement is his entire platform.

I think Hannah and Babb are nice guys, but they don't seem to recognize the problems Fayette County is experiencing. All they run on is more of the same, and while I would like that, its not going to prove effective.

I think law enforcement needs to evolve SLIGHTLY and become a little more aggressive. But for right now, it isn't. That aspect of the status quo is really going end up harming Fayette County in the long run.

Just doing undercover drug busts are not going to solve our crime problem.

Submitted by susieq on Sun, 06/15/2008 - 7:51pm.

The robberies and buglaries are being done in the cities -- Fayetteivlle and PTC. It's up to the POLICE departments, not the Sheriff's Dept. to patrol the cities.

carbonunit52's picture
Submitted by carbonunit52 on Sun, 06/15/2008 - 7:36am.

I think I will hide under my bed until these desperadoes are rounded up!

Joking aside, overreacting will do more harm than good. How about putting a bounty on the responsible delinquents ? "Free ipod downloads for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators."


Submitted by McGerkin88 on Sat, 06/14/2008 - 8:50pm.

"proliferation of graffiti." Wake up people! The Gangs are here. They have been here. What do you think these gangs are doing over the summer? Reading books? Wonder if it was the Bloods or the Crips or the MS13 or the Latin Kings or more? Then this article concentrates on clean up and the cost! Its bigger than that!

Possible gang activity was reported in January "Does Fayette have a gang problem?"
Tue, 01/08/2008 - 6:11pm
By: John Munford

Keep in denial people. Its going on.

The 5-0's picture
Submitted by The 5-0 on Mon, 06/16/2008 - 3:22pm.

The main gangs we're seeing in Fayette County are The Southside Mafia (the thugs involved in the gun thefts earler this year) and smaller groups with no national or state affiliations.


Submitted by skyspy on Sat, 06/14/2008 - 10:56pm.

and we have had this problem for 10-20yrs. in PTC. The kids here act out because their parents ignore them. They know nobody really wants them.

They are brats that nobody wants. They destroy things just to destroy them. They aren't spraying gang symbols. They just like to ruin things. Like the kids who damaged the fountin by city hall and the kid who stold a bunch of golf carts and drove them into the lake.

The parents here are far more worse then the kids when it comes to anti-social behavior and being disrespectful to their neighbors. Because they allow all of the destruction and vandalism to go on, and never apologize to the people whose property has been damaged.

Nice try.

We still don't need a "truth challenged" cop from Detroit the crime capitol of the U.S.!!

carbonunit52's picture
Submitted by carbonunit52 on Fri, 06/13/2008 - 7:41pm.

Count me in as someone who will turn your sorry butts in to the authorities if I see any tagging going on.


Submitted by Spyglass on Fri, 06/13/2008 - 3:58pm.

if their child had been using spray paint. That stuff gets all over you.

All it would take is a few more parents paying attention to their kids.

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