New weapons in graffiti fight: rewards, 'paint bank'

The city has taken a new approach to its ongoing battle against graffiti, earmarking $2.2 million to help clean up exising graffiti around town and offering rewards for information leading to the arrest of taggers. Under the plan, which Mayor Bill White outlined this week, Crime Stoppers will give up to $5,000 for tips that lead to the arrest and filing of charges against people who commit "graffiti-related crimes."

And there's good news, sort of, for private property owners who get tagged: They'll still have to clean their property up, but the city is establishing a "paint bank" so they don't have to buy the paint themselves. The good: It's free paint, meaning you won't have to pay to paint over something you didn't do. The bad: The paint comes in five colors, which means if you have, say, a purple and orange house, you might be out of luck.

There's still a proposal before City Council that would make it illegal for people under age 17 to carry spray paint, permanent markers and other tools that could be used for graffiti (because all taggers are under 17, of course). The proposal would also require businesses to keep such items behind the counter and would shorten the deadline for property owners to clean up graffiti to 10 days from 30. There's no word on when council will vote on the measure.