Graffiti In The United States

In the 1980s, New York was considered one of the most dangerous major cities in the United States. Crime was on an ultimate high, especially in Brooklyn, New York. The documentary, “The Seven-Five” directed by Tiller Russell, focuses on a police officer named Michael Dowd who worked in the 75th precinct. The 75th precinct was known for being the most dangerous area with the most crime. However, not only were individuals within the community committing crimes. Dowd, who’s been on the job for two years, went from being a good cop that followed all protocols to a corrupt cop that went down the path of crime. This documentary goes into details on Dowd’s crime streak, how he got caught, the case against him, and the testimonies of his partners in the police station. This case was considered a “major corruption scandal in New York City in the 1980s” (Michael Dowd, 2015).

Many citizens and government officials believe that those with disregard for the law and private property strictly do graffiti. In a New York Times article published in 2006 a senior police officer stated in an appearance to the committee of the metropolitan transportation authority on graffiti, stating that, “This is an underworld, a segment of society that doesn’t see this as a crime.” (P B5) Gang members write names

To put the broken windows theory to the test, Kelling was hired as a consultant by the New York City Transit Authority. The subway system was cleaned—specifically targeting graffiti removal. In 1990, William Bratton, an admirer of Kelling, took over the Transit Police and implemented a zero-tolerance for fare-dodging and easier processing of those arrested. These strategies, among others, became part of Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s “quality of life” initiative. [2] Was it effective? A later study of crime trends in New York City showed the rates of both petty and serious crime fell suddenly and significantly after these actions were instituted.

If you walk through almost any city, the buildings, bridges, and any other available spaces are seemingly filled with colors, picture, and words that are not part of the original architecture. This graffiti, which is a mix of tags, stencils, pieces, and freestyle, seems to have almost taken over cities across the world. Some of this graffiti, such as tags, are eyesores, but some pieces, such as the High Line “Love Is the Answer” and “Kiss” murals in New York City, are sites that have become iconic pieces of artwork. Unfortunately, pieces like these are also starting to be covered to a seemingly astronomical rate, which is causing outrage among those who visited to them.

5: Reclaiming the Public Spaces of New York City would take place by giving the area precinct more power over their districts. Precincts became able to conduct their own operations and stings by giving them the resources, training and equipment to gain control over the prostitution rate and over the noise complaints. To control the unwanted graffiti around the communities, courts were able to sentences those to community service which meant scrapping the unwanted paintings off of the side of old building and other structures, and paint them with fresh paint. All little efforts help the broken window theory. Agencies began stepping up all efforts and began to make a dent in the minor crimes such as: those who litter, those who urinate on the sidewalks and buildings, the aggressive hassling panhandlers and those who are involve in property damage. Police Strategy No. 5: Reclaiming the Public Spaces of New York City allowed the city to revise and expand their training across the board. The city trained more female officers to be able to help out in undercover stings and operations instead of just male officers being out on the block. All officers were trained on the new update guidelines. The best thing the strategy allowed was for precincts to get back to the basics and start to enforcement the laws that were already in play but wasn’t enforced too

In order to slow the skyrocketing crime rate and protect its citizens, New York City officials made it a priority to establish new ways of policing. The first major initiative of this new strategy shift was to deploy more narcotic teams in the most

The field of police work is constantly being forced to develop and improve its protocols, procedures, and practices in an effort to keep pace with the ever-changing society in which it operates and criminal behavior it seeks to eradicate. While the history of policing has been marked by substantial changes throughout time, the work of modern-day police officers and officials demonstrate some of the most substantial adaptations to its surrounding environment that the field has ever seen. In order to understand where the future of policing is heading, it is important to first understand these current trends that are affecting the current landscape of the profession. By

Seeing the vast amounts of corruption, The Department of Justice issued an investigation in 2010. After reviewing the investigation for a year, The Department of Justice documented a “158-page report on the state of the department” (Ramsey, 2015). The report included the “unconstitutional conduct and violation of federal law in several areas” (Ramsey, 2015). Later, in January 2013, the Department of Justice issued a decree to reform their department. In 2009, the Office of the Independent Police Monitor was created to create a way for civilians to share information. In 2014, the police department became the first to use body cameras, which made it the first department to do so (Ramsey, 2015). Police Chief Harrison says, “All of it working at the same time is turning us now into a model police department. We were slow moving getting started but we’re feeling traction and momentum now going forward” (Ramsey, 2015). Another organization modeled to help reduce the corruption of the police department and fight for reform is ‘Safe Streets, Strong Communities.’ The founder, Yvette Thierry is a relative of one victim of the unjustifiable shootings shortly after Katrina. Their hard work helped push for the investigation into the department. While the decree mainly focused on the corruption circulating through the officers, it also focused largely on the canine unit.

The City of New York is divided into 73 precincts. These precincts are the basic managerial units for the operation of the familiar police patrol cars (called radio mobile patrols or RMPs) we see on the City streets. For staffing purposes the Police Department divides the day into three eight-hour tours of duty: 12 midnight to 8AM, 8AM to 4PM, and 4PM to 12 midnight. A particular police precinct such as the 26th, in which Columbia University stands, may have 6 patrol cars in the field during the typical 8-to-4 tour. In New York about 1200 cartours are fielded on an average day -- about 200 on the 12 to 8 tour, about 400 on the 8 to 4

As stated by Taki, an influential graffiti artist when addressing the concern authorities held about his graffiti writing, “Why they go after the little guy? Why not campaign organizations that put stickers all over the subways at election time?” (Chronopoulos 2011, pg. 81). Though, graffiti is deemed as legitimate when it is used to generate profit, which is seen through the recent increased demand for graffiti with the purpose of beautification and gentrification. Evidently, the growing concern over graffiti in public spaces is driven by the conflict graffiti creates when obstructing advertisements, which generate increased consumption and profit. It also demonstrates the lack of tolerance the dominant class has for the promotion of dominance by the lower class. Moreover, constant “public proclamations” which urged people to see graffiti writing as a social safety issue, has certainly influenced the demand for anti-graffiti efforts and the attitudes upper and middle class whites had towards Blacks and Latinos (Chronopoulos 2011, pg. 87)

“Broken Windows” policing drives crime rates down. When the New York City Police Department employed this policy, “murders decreased 19 percent and car thefts fell by 15 percent in the first year” (Noble 2016).

In 1982, James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling presented an article that called for a change in police tactics to enhance neighborhood safety entitled simply “Broken Windows”. This article was hailed as the godsend that everyone was waiting for because at the time crime rates were extremely high and murder had peaked just two years prior to the release of this article. Wilson and Kelling declare that a return to “order-maintenance” police function is the key to providing safe neighborhoods (Kelling and Wilson 104). This is achieved through foot patrol officers that enact regulations for their patrol areas which keep individuals in their place and “strengthen the informal social control mechanisms of natural communities” (Kelling and Wilson

The graphs from the reading are a clear indicator of proof of this. Along with the graphs, we discussed in class how the strategies can be used in an effective manner, and the crime numbers and the examples of the strategies that are used prove that DC Metro has used them in such a manner. The DC Metro also unknowingly executed multiple theories such as: Broken Windows (cleaning up the graffiti), Deterrence (arrests for quality of life crimes), and Routine Activities (use of cameras to catch crime) theories, and environmental design (small amount of pillars for criminals to hide behind) and situational crime prevention (signs stating Metro rules). Some examples of crime that might occur on the Metro are: pickpocketing during busy hours, abduction of children (especially school trip students), sexual assault (fondling), public urination (no public restrooms), and public

Many citizens have become annoyed with the crime in their neighborhoods. They have organized block watches, citizen patrols, along with neighborhood cleanups, and started harassing slumlords that allow drug dealers to use their properties. (Brown Art. 122). Among many of the crime fighting tools, the involvement of

This negative shadow on the art form of graffiti has caused the decline of the graffiti movement. As many have predicted, “graffiti may eventually disappear” (“The Writing's on the Wall; Graffiti”). Graffiti has already begun to dwindle from what was once a flourishing art movement, to an almost disesteemed hobby. However, a soiled reputation is not the only culprit in the murder of authentic graffiti. The occupation of the current generation with technology and social media has caused many artists to focus solely on selling their work and gaining attention through social networking platforms. Another, perhaps more common, reason for the decline is the improvement of police work and punishments for those indulging in the illegal form of graffiti (“The Writing's on the Wall; Graffiti”). Because of this decline in authentic and prohibited graffiti, artists have channeled their work into new forms and established their own artistic community.