APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – The Appleton Police Department is not only trying to clean-up crime, but also quite literally, keep the streets clean.
“It’s what we call a quality of life issue. People want to walk around our beautiful city and not see graffiti,” explains Officer Matt Phillebrown. “When people do see graffiti they get an uneasy feeling and think a crime has happened there.”
Officers say, not surprisingly, the department sees more vandalism and graffiti during the summer.
“In 2017 we had around 100 calls for graffiti for the whole year, but in 2019 we’ve had about 30. So it’s not as bad as it was but it’s still a crime that’s happening,” he says.
The crimes cost the city money, but Midwest Restoration in Little Chute is now helping by cleaning the graffiti free of charge.
“We would like to see a cleaner city and take pride in our city and let visitors know what we have to offer,” says Bill Verhagan from Midwest Restoration.
Officer Philberown says it’s important to report any graffiti you see to local law enforcement.
“So we’ll go on out and look at the graffiti and meet with the victims and start asking the simple questions of, have you seen anyone suspicious walking around, do you have cameras on your building, and we can also check the street cameras as well,” says Officer Phillebrown.
The best way to avoid being a target of graffiti is to install cameras and sufficient lighting on your property, according to police.
Wisconsin law defines graffiti as writing or marking someone’s property without their consent.
It carries a potential fine of up to $10,000.
