Education and Prevention:

Gang Prevention

Erase It

 

"Erase It: Record - Report - Remove" was a 6-month graffiti removal project of TOGETHER!. Some pieces of the program are still running, such as the graffiti-reporting smartphone app and graffiti removal kits (keep reading for details).

 

Graffiti Facts

In the U.S., almost $12 million is spent every year cleaning up graffiti, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Graffiti can hurt your neighborhood in many ways. According to the National Association of Realtors, graffiti can lower a home's value by 15%. When graffiti is present and not removed, it invites more serious crimes to the area because it appears to be tolerated.


This can all be reduced with prompt removal and citizen reporting. By taking a picture of the graffiti and reporting it to your local law enforcement agency, then removing it, you can reduce the progression to more dangerous activity.


Graffiti does not mean gangs are in your neighborhood; however, by informing law enforcement of the activity and acting quickly to remove it, you prevent your neighborhood or park from becoming a welcome location for criminal activity.

 

What You Can Do

  2. Report all graffiti to your local law enforcement office. Take a picture of the graffiti and provide it to law enforcement if asked.
  3. Call (360-493-2230 x20) or email TOGETHER! for supplies – we’ll give you the material to paint or remove the graffiti in your neighborhood
  4. Organize a cleanup event; contact us for advice.

 

Report graffiti with your iPhone or Android phone!
  1. Go to the iPhone App Store or Android Market on your phone and search for "myThurston." Download this app -- then, when you see graffiti, simply snap up to 4 photos of the graffiti, then submit the photos through the myThurston app. The law enforcement bureaus of Lacey, Olympia, Thurston County and Yelm are participating in this program. Crime analysts from each agency can log in and view the uploaded photos, which allows them to identify graffiti and connect activity across jurisdictions.
  2. For more information on the myThurston app, click here to read the news release.

 

Teens and TOGETHER! staff clean up graffiti.

Teens and TOGETHER! staff helped clean graffiti from several locations in the community.

 

For more information please contact us.

 

Mailing Address
TOGETHER!
418 Carpenter Rd. SE Ste 203
Lacey, WA 98503

 

Phone
(360) 493-2230 ext 20

 

Send an email

 

Learn More

  1. Graffiti Hurts: Organize a cleanup and learn more
  2. Thurston County Gang Enforcement: Gang information specific to Thurston County, from the Sheriff's Office

 

Thank You to:

Rodda Paint in Lacey for helping with materials in TOGETHER!'s cleanup efforts

The Thurston County Sheriff's Office for their coordinated efforts to address graffiti in Thurston County.

App-Order.com for developing the myThurston graffiti-reporting smartphone application.