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Graffiti Clean-Up

By: Shane Symolon Email
By: Shane Symolon Email

Evidence still remains of a vandalism spree a month ago in Waynesboro, because some businesses still have not cleaned up. Waynesboro Police say it’s a constant problem.

A month ago NTelos customers were greeted with Swastikas on the doors. Two days later, Mike Minnis says their building was clean again.

"You don't want to have anything that might be offensive to your customers or your employees. So getting the graffiti down as quickly as possible was really important," says Minnis.

Sgt. Kelly Walker, Waynesboro Police, says the department agrees, because it helps keep crime away from the area.

"The quicker you clean it off, the less likely it is to reoccur. That's not to say it won't reoccur, but clean it off every time it happens. It shows pride, that you have pride in that piece of property," says Walker.

Some businesses haven't cleaned up graffiti for more than a month. Justin Roadcap works for Mr. Auto Disposal and says their fences have been vandalized five times.

He says they clean it up, but sometimes it takes time, because it happens so often.

"It just keeps happening. It takes a while. The cleaning process we use takes a while, and finding time to do it," says Roadcap.

Walker says police can't make businesses clean because they're on private property.

"I understand not every property owner has the resources to clean it up every time it happens, but I would encourage them to make that a priority," says Walker

Police suggest that businesses ask their insurance company to help pay for cleanup costs, but small graffiti may not be covered.

Police ask that if you have seen graffiti that hasn't been cleaned up for a long time on public property to give them a call. They say most likely the vandalism was never reported.



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