REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jason Simpson, City Manager
Prepared by: Shannon Buckley, Assistant City Manager
Date: December 12, 2023
Subject: Three-year Agreement with Graffiti Tracker for the Uploading, Processing, and Analysis of Graffiti
Recommendation
Approve and authorize the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Agreement in the amount of $11,000.00 annually for three years in an amount not to exceed $33,000.00 based on the volume of photographs taken by the graffiti abatement crews and equipment costs in such final form as approved by the City Attorney.
Background
Graffiti is a significant source of blight within the City of Lake Elsinore, so much so that graffiti is the number one complaint received from citizens. Graffiti complaints outnumber all other complaints 2-1. The City of Lake Elsinore is committed to addressing graffiti by removing it as quickly as possible. Most instances of graffiti are removed within 24 hours of reporting. Last year, the City put a new graffiti removal truck into service for $150,000.00. This state-of-the-art vehicle allows staff to remove more graffiti in less time. The team can now address more complaints and respond quickly throughout the City.
Graffiti Tracker will provide the City with a free mobile app (compatible with Android and Apple devices) to photograph graffiti incidents. Photographs are uploaded to their secure, web-based system and analyzed within 24 hours of submission. Graffiti Trackers analysts read the graffiti and input the intelligence into the system. They can identify whether the graffiti is gang-related and alert law enforcement to potential threats. Graffiti Tracker has analyzed more than 5 million photos to date. The Graffiti Tracker system uses each photo’s GPS coordinates to plot graffiti incidents on an interactive map. Staff can narrow their search to view activity from individual vandals or specific crews or gangs. Identify the path of damage, trends, or migration related to graffiti.
Graffiti Tracker stores all information about graffiti crimes and abatement in one central, easily accessible location. Team members can utilize the information to allocate resources accordingly.
The program can link vandals to multiple incidents and increase the amount of restitution Graffiti Tracker
collected. The system also allows Law Enforcement to input arrest information. The program instantly generates reports that show the most active taggers and gangs. It allows users to access vital information, such as the name of the moniker or crew, total square feet of damage, surface type, and location for each incident, and can compare the frequency of graffiti vandalism over a specific time frame. Graffiti Tracker provides a detailed case report (DA Packet) that can be submitted to the District Attorney’s office for evidence in court proceedings when individuals are arrested for a graffiti-related crime.
Discussion
Graffiti removed by City staff is photographed and downloaded into the Code Enforcement’s case management system. The system is not designed to categorize graffiti or provide information on trends or patterns. When contacted by Law Enforcement to provide evidence in graffiti-related crimes, retrieving the necessary information is complicated and often incomplete. Adding a Graffiti Tracker will solve this problem and provide Law Enforcement with the necessary tools to track, identify, analyze, and provide detailed reports.
Fiscal Impact
Graffiti Tracker will be funded through fiscal year 23/24 Internal Service Funds.
Attachments
Attachment 1 – Agreement
Exhibit A - Scope of Services
Exhibit B - Schedule of Fees