​Graffiti is a gateway crime. Individuals who start breaking minor laws like graffiti and petty theft often end up committing more serious crimes, especially in communities with high amounts of gang activity and graffiti tagging. Graffiti is the "canary in the coal mine" for criminals to test how effective community policing is at preventing criminality. Additionally, Ggraffiti creates a visually blighted environment which sends the message that that crime tolerated which encourages further crime and disorder and discourages home owners and business owners from reinvesting in their community.

Approximately 80% of graffiti is “graffiti tagging”.  Tagging is essentially the street name of a graffiti tagger and is indented to show off to friends. These tags are often small, single color and include the tagger's street nickname. The bigger and more brazen the graffiti tag, the more street credibility the graffiti tagger gets.  The sooner the graffiti tag is removed, the better.  Ideally graffiti tags should be removed with 24 to 48 hours to discourage further graffiti tags.

Approximately 10% of graffiti is gang related, often designed to claim territority for drug sales and other illegal activities from rival gangs. These tags are often black spray paint, have large symbols, and are located on corner buildings. 

The remaining 10% of graffiti are street art.  Street art is not harmful.  Most street art requires skill and is intended to create visual interest on the street.  Street art often takes the form of stickers or small scale murals.  Street art is is typically not found on sensitive private property and is more likely found on public property such as street signs and semi-public property such as newspaper boxes.  

Graffiti tags and gang-graffiti should be removed as quickly as possible.  Street art does not need to be removed.  Clean City Pro graffiti removers are fast and effective graffiti removal tools that can help speed the removal of graffiti tags and gang-graffiti.  Please visit the graffiti removal product selection guide at www.CleanCityPro.com to find the best graffiti remover for your unique graffiti tag.

The City of Tallahassee Florida is implementing measures to fight back against the blight of graffiti. The City Council approved ordinances for city inspectors to issue violations and fines to property owners who fail to remove graffiti after being notified.

The City of Tallahassee Florida Graffiti Abatement Plan will be a pilot program will go into effect in October of 2019. Using a code enforcement process, Tallahassee will work with property owners on getting rid of graffiti.

Painting over graffiti is one option for homeowners, but graffiti removal using a soy-based graffiti removal solvent like Clean City Pro Green Label is another great option to allow residents a fast, easy and effective graffiti removal tool.  Homeowners are victims of graffiti tagging.  They should be given the tools and training to fix the problem when it occurs.

After months of complaints about the blight from graffiti tags, in Dayton, Ohio, community residents in partnership with the Dayton Police Department organized a community Graffiti Removal Clean Up Action Day to remove graffiti blight from commercial corridors.  Volunteers armed with graffiti remover and pressure washers were able to clean dozens of graffiti tags including large spray paint graffiti tags from brick.  The $600 and six hours were spent removing graffiti.

Then, a couple of weeks later, the graffiti taggers returned and retagged many of the places where the graffiti had been recently removed. 

"It's very irritating. With the amount of time that we spent, and the fact that we came in on our own time to clean it up, it's huge. it's not something that we take lightly." Dayton Police Office Christine Hamilton said.

The Dayton Police Department is conducting an investigation to identify the graffiti tagger and bring him to justice.  Aggressive community policing and security cameras do help deter graffiti vandalism.  Additionally, when graffiti vandals are caught, significant fines and jail time help to deter other graffiti vandals in the community.

Graffiti removal is not a one-time project.  Graffiti removal from a community is a long-term campaign.  Graffiti taggers must be deterred.  Fast and effective removal of graffiti discourages graffiti taggers.  The sooner the graffiti is removed, the less likely they are to graffiti tag that location.  Graffiti is a battle of attrition to see who has greater stamina, the community or the graffiti tagger.  In locations where graffiti is common and long periods of time pass before tags are removed, additional effort needs to be spent to change expectations around the graffiti.  The fact is that if graffiti is not removed frequently or quickly, the graffiti taggers are winning.  After a single graffiti action clean up, they will expect that this was an isolated event and return to re-tag the recently cleaned surfaces.  If however, this is expected and the graffiti clean up is actually a campaign, then the new graffiti can be removed and the cycle will continue.  Eventually, the community will win.  The graffiti tagger takes a risk everytime he goes out tagging that he will be caught, so he will look for spots where his tags will stay up longer.  If the city reclaims an area as graffiti-free with aggressive and rapid graffiti removal, the tagger will move on to less actively maintained locations.  Often these secondary locations are behind buildings and much less visible from the street.  While the vigilance against graffiti tagging must remain, pushing the tagging from view from the main commercial streets into alleys and behind buildings does make an important positive impact on the amount of graffiti blight experienced by the community.

Graffiti Action Days are innovative volunteer graffiti removal events that empower the community to reclaim their neighborhood from the visual blight of graffiti.  They can make a significant and tangible impact on the appearance of a targeted commercial corridor, park or neighborhood plagued by graffiti.  
 
Graffiti Action Days are typically spearheaded by Municipalities, Neighborhood Organizations, Schools, Aldermanic Offices, Chambers of Commerce, or Block Clubs.  

Volunteers can quickly and safely remove hundreds of graffiti tags armed with the highly-innovative, highly-effective, highly-green Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover.  During the two-hour events, volunteers report personally cleaning an estimated 30 to 50 tags.

Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover is highly environmentally-friendly and  therefore very safe to work with. It is fast acting and can completely remove most tags within a couple minutes without impacting the underlying surface.   
   
Because Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover is safe enough to be used by non-professionals, a group of volunteers armed with spray bottles, sponges and buckets of water can effectively remove the majority of the graffiti in a commercial corridor on non-porous surfaces including signs, mailboxes,  newspaper boxes, meter boxes and lamp posts. 

Large graffiti tags on brick, concrete or other porous surfaces require removal with a pressure washer and heavy duty Clean City Pro Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover.  Alternatively, painting over large graffiti tags is an option for this type of graffiti.

Often graffiti action volunteers will encounter street art while removing graffiti.  It is not necessary to remove street art.  Street art has been demonstrated to improve the urban environment, unlike graffiti tags which blight it.  So what is the difference between Street Art and Graffiti Tagging?  1. Street Art is constructive, Graffiti Tagging is destructive. 2. Street Art adorns the urban landscape, Graffiti Tagging scars it and accelerates urban decay. 3. Street Art is about the audience, Graffiti Tagging is about the tagger.
​
Fast and Easy Step-by-step guide for how to Remove Graffiti from Painted Metal Newspaper Box using Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover.

Step 1: Spray Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover onto graffiti tag

Step 2: Allow short dwell time of 20 to 100 seconds.  Sharpie or permanent marker will break within 15 seconds.  Paint marker will break within 30 to 60 seconds.  Grease pen will break within 2 minutes and agitation will assist the removal as the grease chunks break free.  Spray paint will break within 60 seconds to two minutes.

Step 3: Scrub lightly with scouring pad

Step 4: Rinse clean with water or wet rag.

Dozens of volunteers spent their Memorial Day weekend honoring fallen service members by removing graffiti from approximately 200 headstones in the Sunset Hill Memorial Estates Cemetery in Glen Carbon Illinois near St. Louis.  More than 1,400 graves of United States Veterans are located at the cemetery and an annual flag-raising ceremony is held every year to honor their service and their memories.  The graffiti attack included swastikas painted with black spray paint onto the stone headstones, mausoleum, and statues.  The removal was a true community effort with dozens of volunteers and local restaurants donating food and drink to support the community graffiti removal action. 

The graffiti vandal was identified and arrested based on surveillance camera footage which showed the vandal walking through the cemetery the night of the graffiti attack.  This is another example where security cameras help to deter graffiti attacks and security camera footage leads to the arrest of the graffiti vandal.  In addition to crimes related to vandalism, the swastikas spray painted onto U.S. service members headstones on Memorial Day Weekend will likely be charged as a hate crime.

According to Glen Carbon Police Lt. Wayne White,  “The fact that he did this on Memorial Day weekend is inexcusable and disgusting behavior that we’re not going to tolerate.”

How to Remove Graffiti Spray Paint from Stone, Limestone, Rock, and Boulders.
​3 Simple Steps to Remove Graffiti from Stone, Limestone, Rock and Boulders.
​
Step 1: Spray, pour or brush Clean City Pro Red Label Graffiti Remover or Clean City Pro Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover onto graffiti tag.

Step 2: Allow a moderate dwell time of 3 to 20 minutes
Note:  A longer or shorter dwell time is possible depending on conditions.  If spray paint is highly saturated, the limestone is highly porous or the temperature is cold, allow for a longer dwell time.

​Step 3: Pressure wash using a wide, fan tip pressure washing nozzle such as 25 degree green tip.  Repeat if necessary.

Note:  If water source is not available for pressure washer and rinsing, such as cleaning graffiti from National Park, Municipal Park or Forest Preserve,  following dwell time, scrub using stiff nylon or brass brush taking care not to scratch surface.  Remove as much product and paint pigment using dry absorbent rags or towels.  Spray with water from hand held trigger sprayer and dry using dry absorbent rags or towels.

Additionally, if no pressure washer is available, a pressurized 1-gallon pump sprayer (insecticide style sprayer) can be used to generate some limited pressure and rinsing action on the stone surface.

Clean City Pro Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover is a fast, effective and safe heavy duty graffiti remover for removing Spray Paint and Permanent Marker from porous surfaces including
Concrete, Brick, limestone, stone, Rock and other difficult surfaces 

Product Benefits:

• Gel Formulation is designed to cling to vertical surfaces and provide maximum dwell time
• High-Performance
• Highly-Effective
• Spray and Pressure Wash
• Safe  for User
• Safe for Pets
• Safe for Environment
• ​Scientifically-Formulated
• Non-Hazardous Shipping

ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES

• "Green" Graffiti Remover
• Super Low VOC
• Low Odor
• Non-Toxic
• Non-Hazardous Shipping
• Soy-Powered
• Bio-Based
• Readily Biodegradable
• Non-Corrosive
• Non-Flammable
• Non-Aerosol

Step-By-Step Instructions for Removing Graffiti from Rough Surfaces Like Headstones

STEP-BY-STEP APPLICATION BEST PRACTICES for Removing Graffiti from Concrete, Brick or Stone using Clean City Pro Heavy Duty Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover.
1.  City Pro Heavy Duty Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover is for use on non-sensitive surfaces such as brick concrete, stone and other difficult surfaces.  If using on sensitive surfaces, always test in inconspicuous area before use.
2.  Use chemical resistant gloves and goggles.
3.  Spray or brush graffiti remover onto affected area.  (Ready-to-use. No dilution necessary)
4.  Control drips using nylon or wire brush
5.  Allow dwell time from 5 to 20 minutes (longer in cold temps)
6.  Warmer temperatures, hot water, and agitation with wire brush increase effectiveness
7.  Rinse with pressure washer using even, slow passes.  Use 15° fan tip or wider.
8.  Repeat if necessary.

Community volunteers, police officers, firefighters, and park district staff came together in Duluth, MN for a Community Graffiti Action Clean-Up Day to Help eliminate the blight of graffiti and graffiti tagging in the urban center.  

Graffiti Action Days are innovative volunteer graffiti removal events that empower the community to reclaim their neighborhood from the visual blight of graffiti.  They can make a significant and tangible impact on the appearance of a targeted commercial corridor, park or neighborhood plagued by graffiti.  
 
Graffiti Action Days are typically spearheaded by Municipalities, Neighborhood Organizations, Schools, Aldermanic Offices, Chambers of Commerce, or Block Clubs.  

Volunteers can quickly and safely remove hundreds of graffiti tags armed with the highly-innovative, highly-effective, highly-green Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover.  During the two-hour events, volunteers report personally cleaning an estimated 30 to 50 tags.

Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover is highly environmentally-friendly and  therefore very safe to work with. It is fast acting and can completely remove most tags within a couple minutes without impacting the underlying surface.   
   
Because Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover is safe enough to be used by non-professionals, a group of volunteers armed with spray bottles, sponges and buckets of water can effectively remove the majority of the graffiti in a commercial corridor on non-porous surfaces including signs, mailboxes,  newspaper boxes, meter boxes and lamp posts. 

Large graffiti tags on brick, concrete or other porous surfaces require removal with a pressure washer and heavy duty Clean City Pro Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover.  Alternatively, painting over large graffiti tags is an option for this type of graffiti.

Often graffiti action volunteers will encounter street art while removing graffiti.  It is not necessary to remove street art.  Street art has been demonstrated to improve the urban environment, unlike graffiti tags which blight it.  So what is the difference between Street Art and Graffiti Tagging?  1. Street Art is constructive, Graffiti Tagging is destructive. 2. Street Art adorns the urban landscape, Graffiti Tagging scars it and accelerates urban decay. 3. Street Art is about the audience, Graffiti Tagging is about the tagger.
​
Fast and Easy Step-by-step guide for how to Remove Graffiti from Painted Metal Newspaper Box using Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover.

Step 1: Spray Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover onto graffiti tag

Step 2: Allow short dwell time of 20 to 100 seconds.  Sharpie or permanent marker will break within 15 seconds.  Paint marker will break within 30 to 60 seconds.  Grease pen will break within 2 minutes and agitation will assist the removal as the grease chunks break free.  Spray paint will break within 60 seconds to two minutes.

Step 3: Scrub lightly with scouring pad

Step 4: Rinse clean with water or wet rag.

Local artists and students in Watsonville, California organized a community graffiti removal clean up day. The effort helped to remove extensive graffiti from the local park located close to the local school. By painting murals, the organizers hope to change the atmosphere in the park and discourage future graffiti attacks.  Graffiti was painted over metal fences, concrete and other surfaces. 

Mural painting is a excellent way to remove graffiti. But the effort must be ongoing. Graffiti taggers will soon return and vandalize again. The community must be prepared to quickly remove the new graffiti. The more quickly, the new graffiti is removed, the less likely the taggers are to return.  After a few cycles where the community can quickly remove the new graffiti, taggers are likely to move on to less aggressively protected sites.  

To remove new graffiti, fresh paint is always an option, especially if the spot has been painted before. For murals, a best practice is to apply an anti-graffiti coating, either sacrificial, semi-sacrificial, or a permanent nano anti-graffiti coating. This protects the murals against graffiti attack and makes future graffiti removal from their surface possible without damaging the original mural itself.  

For graffiti removal from murals protected by sacrificial, semi-sacrificial, or permanent nano anti-graffiti coatings, the best graffiti remover is Clean City Pro Red Label graffiti remover. Clean City Pro Red Label graffiti remover is a fast, safe, effective full strength graffiti remover. Clean City Pro Red Label graffiti remover is designed to remove graffiti tags from sacrificial, semi-sacrificial, or permanent nano anti-graffiti coatings. Clean City Pro Red Label graffiti remover is also excellent for removing graffiti from metal, concrete, brick, stone, sidewalks, painted surfaces, plastics, and much more.

For more information, check out our Best Practices in Graffiti Removal page, our Graffiti Removal Selection page or our Tips and Techniques for Graffiti Removal page.​

San Antonio Police and local community watch groups use systematic approach to  graffiti to combat crime.  A model for community based anti-graffiti and anti-crime efforts, the San Antonio method uses data and mapping to better police the community.  Gang graffiti is a communication used by gangs to claim territory.  If graffiti is quickly removed, the gang has a difficult time claiming that territory with the gang and rival gangs.  In areas with ambiguous gang control, crime rates decrease.  Efforts such as this require close working relationship between community and police.  Neighbors must remain vigilant in reporting, or cleaning graffiti as soon as it appears. 

While city graffiti abatement units are best suited to remove large graffiti tags and graffiti tags on brick or concrete walls, community members through Graffiti Action Days, or community members armed with safe, effective graffiti removal kits can easily remove small and medium sized tags.  Tags located on smooth surfaces such as painted surfaces, garbage dumpsters, playgrounds, fences,  and mail boxes are best removed by volunteer community members.  Armed with safe, effective graffiti removal kits, small tags can be cleaned by volunteer community members for less than one dollar per tag.  Cost for city graffiti abatement can cost upwards to $25 or $30 per tag. 

Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover is a fast, safe effective graffiti remover.  Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover is ideal to include in community graffiti removal kit.  Graffiti Removal Kit includes Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover, scouring pad, stiff bristle nylon brush, soy solvent resistant gloves, and goggles.