Police Departments and the Law

Police departments do not have time to investigate all vandalism complaints. The community and neighborhood watch groups must assume a serious role in the observing and reporting of vandalism. Police do respond to graffiti crimes in progress. The community cannot expect the police department alone to solve the graffiti problem. Graffiti IS a community issue and the police are just one integral part of a complex solution. Do make it easy for the police to do enforcement by getting good descriptions of suspects and suspect vehicles (make, model, license numbers etc.) Combine your graffiti abatement program with your crime prevention program. Encourage your local police department to stay the course.

What about experimental graffiti abatement programs? Do these programs work?

So called "free walls, graffiti walls, graffiti zones," etc. have failed to correct the vandalism communities have experienced. Once the vandals had a place to paint, vandalism in the immediate area of the walls increased 300 percent. Graffiti zones do not work. Graffiti zones attract trouble. Despite the obvious failure of the vandals to adhere to community agreements, this city still stands accused of artistic censorship by graffiti advocates! Go figure!

Where is GH?

Granada Hills is located just north of the North HIlls and Northridge districts, west of the Mission HIlls and Sylmar districts and just east of the Porter Ranch district. It is accessible by the Ronald Reagan (SR 118), San Diego (Interstate 405), and Golden State (Interstate 5) Freeways. Major main streets include Balboa Boulevard, Woodley, Hayvenhurst, and Haskell Avenues, as well as Rinaldi Street, San Fernando Mission Boulevard, Chatsworth Street, and Devonshire Street.

What Is Granada Hills?

91344 is an urban zip code in Granada Hills, California. The population is racially diverse, and mostly married couples. Housing prices here (average $238,100) are fairly typical for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metro area. The median age here is 37.8. There are 23,943 men and 24,920 woman. The median age for men is 37 where as for women the median age is 38.6. 91344 zip code is located in the Pacific time zone at 34 degrees latitude (same latitude as Kabul, Afghanistan) and -118 degrees longitude. It has an average elevation of 1.105.87 feet above sea level.