DAYTON — The City of Dayton has launched “Graffiti Delete,” a new mobile-friendly initiative that allows residents to report graffiti directly from their phones.
As reported by News Center 7’s Ava Petrosky, the city created an online portal on its website where community members can upload information to assist with prompt removal.
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The program relies on the broken windows theory as its core philosophy, operating under the principle that quickly addressing minor physical decay prevents further negative issues from taking root in a neighborhood.
Dayton Deputy City Manager Joe Parlette explained that unaddressed vandalism can harm local areas. “If you allow one broken window to happen, then other negative things formulate in that same geography,” Parlette said, adding that graffiti “could present a bad image for a specific geography, location, property, what have you.”
To report graffiti, residents start by taking a photo of the vandalism. They then visit the City of Dayton website and access the “Graffiti Delete” portal to submit the address, a description, and the photos. Once submitted, Dayton Delivers automatically receives the report and routes it to the correct department.
Dayton Deputy City Manager Parlette said city officials designed the streamlined portal to encourage higher community engagement and reporting.
“We know we’ve been getting more reports, so from that perspective it’s already getting positive kind of interactions with the community,” Parlette said.
City officials also aim to use the reports to track down individuals responsible for the vandalism, as individuals often include unique signatures on their graffiti. When reports contain signatures, the city forwards the information directly to law enforcement.
“In those instances, it will be sent forward to the Police Department for investigation and hopefully prosecution,” Parlette said.
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