Summary

King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn on Monday introduced legislation that would create a graffiti removal initiative aimed at improving the cleanliness, safety, and economic vitality of communities across King County that have been damaged by graffiti.

Story

King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn on Monday introduced legislation that would create a graffiti removal initiative aimed at improving the cleanliness, safety, and economic vitality of communities across King County that have been damaged by graffiti.

“Graffiti is a highly-visible crime that sends a signal that neighborhoods are not being cared for or looked after,” Dunn said. “With the dramatic rise in crime that we are seeing in King County, this is the wrong message to send. As the presence of graffiti increases in our communities, we need to take steps to remove and prevent it, and, in turn, keep our neighborhoods clean and safe.”

Graffiti is known by the U.S. Department of Justice and local jurisdictions, like the cities of Tacoma and Seattle, to be a costly nuisance that can signal increased crime. Graffiti is also known to be one of the ways violent gangs organize, intimidate, and further criminal objectives. Finally, graffiti can contribute to a loss in revenue for jurisdictions like King County due to decreases in ridership on public transit, reduced retail sales, and downturns in property values.

Dunn’s legislation, if passed, would create a comprehensive King County graffiti clean-up program, coordinated with the Department of Local Services and the Sheriff’s Office. This would include a way for people to report graffiti for the County to clean up or access graffiti removal kits to utilize on their own. It would create deployable graffiti removal services, which could possibly employ people experiencing homelessness, to respond to reports of graffiti. In addition, the legislation requests plans for public art development, like murals, and the sharing of information for residents on best practices for reporting possible gang activity. The plans for this initiative would be due back to the King County Council by March 31, 2023.

This legislation will be heard in the Local Services and Land Use Committee in the coming weeks.