Asheville Reporter

Keeping streets clean and safe requires community effort and interdepartmental coordination. Graffiti tagging, more than a nuisance, impacts buildings and residents while being classified as vandalism, draining taxpayer funds for cleanup.

The City of Asheville's streets division is responsible for graffiti removal among other duties such as maintaining streets, bridges, walls, guardrails, tree trimming, mowing right-of-ways, downtown street sweeping, and seasonal snow removal. Their early morning crews often document fresh tags.

Prevention efforts are bolstered by information sharing between the Asheville Police Department (APD) and street division crews to identify and stop repeat graffiti vandalism. Earlier this May, APD utilized interdepartmental information in an operation targeting downtown graffiti vandalism. Through collaboration with the streets division on a repeatedly victimized business location, officers conducted surveillance and identified a suspect. An arrest was made after observing the suspect tagging the building.

These efforts underscore how City of Asheville departments collaborate to promote cleanliness and safety throughout the city.

Residents can assist by taking pictures of graffiti and filing non-emergency police reports to help solve future crimes. Reports can also be made via the Asheville App or by calling 828-259-5720.