Former Coatesville Police Chief Matthews had once suggested that Street gang tagging graffiti was just copycat posting by kids. I believe he soon discovered that was not true. Gang members take posting seriously and view unauthorized tags as not just a bunch of kids. MS-13 gangs are said to kill imitators as though they are rival gang members.
Removing gang graffiti does several things:
- No graffiti makes Coatesville look better.
- No graffiti makes people feel safer when they're out on Coatesville's streets. Street gang tags provoke a fear response.
- And maybe most importantly removing the tags of street gangs makes it difficult for violent street gangs to establish a base in Coatesville, it’s an effective crime fighting tool.
"A search for graffiti that came up empty in Coatesville was so perplexing
that a Downingtown woman reportedly stopped into City Hall to find out why.
She told officials that her son had been doing a school project on street
drawings and scrawlings, a study that required her to drive him from Berwyn to
Coatesville. The absence of any graffiti in the city prompted her to seek an
explanation, and she was referred to Coatesville Police Officer Rodger H. Ollis
Jr., a proud member of Coatesville’s premier graffiti-busting team.”
MORE AT:
by kathleen brady shea
This is part of an email I received from Officer Ollis:
“Funny how a quick thank
you and acknowledgement turned into something larger.
The people originally
listed are some of the members of the Community Policing Committee that have
given their time to not only discuss quality of life issues such as graffiti,
but those that have given much of their time painting and consistently participate
in the anti-graffiti initiatives. There
are others within the group and there are others outside of the group that
takes time to make Coatesville a better place; for or example, Matt Baker. I have spent many hours beautifying with
Matt. He is one of the reasons that
graffiti cannot be easily located.”
“As you know, I prefer to
take action and not credit. People like
John, Laurie, Matt, Mike, Marie, others (and their families) deserve the
credit. I remove graffiti for many, many
reasons. One reason is crime prevention. Crime prevention is part of my job.”
Ofc. Rodger H. Ollis, Jr.
The violence of the gangs was demonstrated in Avondale on December 3rd:
“Witnesses to the December double
slaying at an Avondale bonfire described a terrifying scene as about a dozen
weapon-wielding Surenos encircled two members of the rival Viking gang, police
said.”
SEE:
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2012
Posted by kathleen brady shea @ 7:38 AM
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2010
