Presentation to Toronto Police Service Graffiti Management Training Seminar by the city of Toronto Graffiti Management Team

1. Graffiti Management Plan:
Working Together
APRIL 3, 2012
TORONTO POLICE SERVICE
GRAFFITI TRAINING SEMINAR

2. Background
 Mayor Ford’s priority
 2007 new Coordinated Street Furniture reports
identified graffiti as one place to direct energy & funding
 New plan is progressive and balances competing
interests
 The City currently spends over $1M a year removing
graffiti
 A new Municipal Code Chapter for Graffiti was approved
in October 2011 and defines new parameters on graffiti
art and graffiti vandalism

3. What is Toronto doing?
In July 2011, City Council adopted a new Graffiti Management
Plan that includes a number of recommendations and 4 key
action areas.
Research and experience show that implementing only one part
(i.e. enforcement) without the other parts that provide
coordination, engagement and support will lead to failure in
solving the graffiti vandalism situation.

4. 1. Rigorous Enforcement against Tagging and Other
Illegal Graffiti
 Continuous Municipal Licensing and Standards
enforcement against illegal graffiti
 A revised graffiti by-law
 Rigorous standards on the removal of graffiti from all
City property and stringent expectations for all City
agencies, boards, commissions and corporations.
 A new partnership with the Toronto Police Service

5. 2. Better Reporting Mechanisms & Support for
Victims of Tagging & Other Illegal Graffiti
 Enhanced reporting to 311, including a new
reporting smartphone app
 Advice and support to the public
 Encourage Business Improvement Areas
and other businesses to fund and commit to
long-term graffiti removal contracts
 Ward-based graffiti strategies

6. 3. Support and Recognition for Permitted Graffiti Art
and Other Street Art
 Legalization of graffiti art on buildings & structures with
the owner’s permission
 A new Graffiti Panel
 Creation of StreetARToronto Program

7. 4. Creation of a Coordinating Graffiti Function
 Act as the central coordinating body for all graffiti-
related matters across the City.
 Responsible for communications, benchmarking,
achieving efficiencies and reporting on the status and
success of all parts of the Plan.
 Ensure a consistent, accessible
and consolidated approach
across City divisions and with
ABCCs, business and the
general public.

8. Our Challenge

9. Changes to the Graffiti By-Law
 A new Graffiti by-law was enacted on January 1,
2012 which sets out important definition distinctions
for graffiti:
 Graffiti Vandalism
 Graffiti Art

10. Graffiti Vandalism
 Any deliberate markings made or affixed on property
that is not currently exempted and:
 was made or affixed without permission of the
owner;
 is considered to be a tag;
 for which there are reasonable grounds to believe
that it may incite hatred or violence against any
person or identifiable group; or
 contains profane, vulgar or offensive language.

11. Tags
 A stylized signature or logo that is intended to
identify an individual or group or any other marking
used for a like purpose or effect. Considered to be
illegal graffiti vandalism.

12. Art Mural
 A mural commissioned or approved prior to its
creation by a property owner or occupant, where the
primary purpose is to aesthetically enhance the
surface it covers and the general surroundings.

13. Graffiti Art
 Markings made or
affixed to property
that are approved by
the property owner
or occupant, where
the markings
aesthetically enhance
the surface they cover
and the general
surroundings, having
regard to the
community character
and standards.

14. Graffiti Vandalism
 Graffiti style art that is
made or affixed on a
structure or thing
without the
permission of the
owner. If the owner
approves of the graffiti
art, they may seek an
exemption through
the City.

15. Graffiti Panel
 A property owner can engage the Graffiti Panel,
comprised of City staff with experience in the arts, urban
design, architecture and other relevant disciplines, if they
have given permission for a piece of graffiti art on their
property and they believe it should be exempted from the
by-law.
 The Graffiti Panel will use a
set of criteria to determine if
the art meets the character
and standards of the
community.

16. StreetARToronto
 As a mechanism to support property owners
interested in preventing vandalism, and in response
to the enormous creative potential for artistic
expression in Toronto, the City of Toronto has
launched StreetARToronto (StART).

17. StreetARToronto
 A public/private partnership program designed to
increase opportunities for
 neighborhood improvement
 emerging and established artists
 youth looking to develop and express their artistic abilities
 StART will provide grants to not-for-profit community
organizations, with a focus on working with at-risk youth,
to work with artists to install murals.
 Toronto Police Services partnership to operate diversion
programs for youth arrested for graffiti vandalism
through the court system.

18. StART - Promotion and Advocacy
 Enhanced web presence
 Inventory of mural and wall art throughout the city
 Directory of mural and graffiti artists in the city
 Creating social media sites that can start a serious
dialogue on street art in Toronto
 Listing of educational opportunities and events
related to street art and graffiti

19. StART – Diversion and Education Program
 Funding up to $20,000 for initiatives that:
 Engage at-risk youth, or youth arrested for tagging or illegal
graffiti activities and diverted through the Court System
 Provide consistent programming for a minimum of a 4-month
time period
 Include a combination of some or all of the following tasks &
activities:
• Graffiti clean up and/or mural repair
• Community engagement and development
• Health and safety workshops related to street art
• Other related skill development activities

20. Examples of Notable Local Work

21. Examples of Notable Local Work

22. Examples of Notable Local Work

23. Municipal Licensing & Standards Graffiti Management
Team

24. Graffiti By-law Compliance Process
 Municipal Standards Officer reactively (complaint-
driven) or proactively investigates graffiti incidents
 If item is determined to be graffiti vandalism, a
Notice of Violation is issued
 If item is determined to be graffiti art, Graffiti Panel
process is engaged
 Property owner is advised of compliance period
 Secondary investigation occurs
 If in compliance, file is closed. If not in compliance,
process for remedial action begins

25. Graffiti Management Plan Team
TRANSPORTATION SERVICES, MUNICIPAL LICENSING & STANDARDS
PUBLIC REALM
 Dave Twaddle, Manager, Beautiful  Lance Cumberbatch, Director,
Streets Investigation Services
 twaddle@toronto.ca/416-392-4628  lcumber@toronto.ca/416-392-7633
 Jodi Callan, Project Lead, Graffiti  Gus Michaels, District Manager,
Coordination Investigation Services
 jcallan@toronto.ca/416-338-2951  gmichae@toronto.ca/416-392-1320
 Lilie Zendel, Project Manager, StART  Fernando Aceto, Coordinator,
Program Investigation Services
 faceto@toronto.ca/416-397-7788
 lzendel@toronto.ca/416-392-9863