Asheville News

Grafitti gotcha

Jason Sandford March 3, 2007

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

Ashvegas police last week announced the arrest of three people on graffiti-related charges. The police said they’ve created a special task force to take on the grafitti issue in Ashevegas. Here’s what they’re doing:

Patrol officers from each police district and an investigator from the Criminal Investigations Division have been assigned to apprehend and prosecute persons causing damage to private and public property.
Digital cameras are used to document the graffiti and the individual styles used by persons causing this damage. Surveillance operations are being used in an effort to apprehend persons involved in causing graffiti damage.

We’re torn by this news. Yes, defacing public property is a crime. We wouldn’t like it if we owned a business that was tagged. We wouldn’t like it if someone use our car as a canvass.

But on the other hand, we enjoy the street art, the back alley art. It adds something special to downtown and to dilapidated buildings that nobody really cares about.

Maybe the real question is: is it really worthwhile to devote this much time and energy to try and stop some guys with spray paint and a template or two? Arent’ there more important things to be battling?

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

Missing Margene

Wall Street

3 Comments

UnknownCity March 9, 2007

This is just one more lockstep in the march to make Asheville appear safe for the downtown condo set. The bulldozer of gentrification rolls on.

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Peaches March 6, 2007

Ash, you & I both know that this is BULLSHITE. When I return to Arseville for a vacay this summer, I will find you, we will dress in black from head to toe, & we will do an Ashvegas/Listless HARD CORE TAG in an undisclosed locale. You game? THEY CAN SUCK IT.

BTW, LOVIN’ the banner – meant to say this sooner. It is HAWT!

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Bill March 4, 2007

yes, there are more important things, but this is easy, and there is funding for it, and the mumpowers of the world think this "is doing something"

graffiti was out of hand in NYC, they went crazy on it, and it died down, but it is back. some say it is a reaction to the world at large, it comes and goes with stupid, upnopular wars and politicians.

could be.

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