omaha graffiti scan.

Help eliminate graffiti from Omaha’s neighborhoods!  The Neighborhood Center and the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Center for Public Affairs Research (CPAR) have teamed up with the City of Omaha to provide new tools to neighborhoods interested in fighting graffiti.

The new service, Graffiti Scan, provides hand-held GPS units to neighborhood leaders and volunteers.    The GPS unit is used to take a photo and record the location of graffiti.  The entire process only takes a few seconds to complete. 
Law enforcement agencies stress that removing graffiti within 24 to 48 hours is one of the best deterrents to future graffiti.   Other cities with proactive graffiti programs report up to 60 percent reductions in graffiti.

Other benefits of removing and preventing future graffiti include:

• reduced citizen fear of crime
• increased patronization of local businesses
• increased community pride

The Neighborhood Center and UNO are assisting neighborhood leaders and volunteers by providing scan equipment, maps, a summary of graffiti locations, as well as cleanup supplies and instructions.  The City of Omaha’s Graffiti Van already responds to graffiti reports through the Mayor’s Hotline.  Graffiti Scan is expected to significantly increase the number of graffiti reports and cleanup effort since it is citizen based.  People in the Omaha community have been cleaning graffiti from the side of buildings, traffic signs, playground equipment, and dumpsters.  The new service is designed to bring a new level of support to these citizen efforts.
Once a Graffiti Scan of an area has been completed, an aerial map is created pinpointing graffiti locations and the type of surface that needs to be cleaned.  This map, as well as individual pictures and location information can help simplify graffiti cleanup efforts and promote use of neighborhood and community volunteers for the clean-up effort.  

UNO and the Neighborhood Center plan on compiling the graffiti images and locations and making them available online for use by the police, community agencies and others interested in tracking gang territories and activity levels.

Contact for More Information

For information about the program and how you can participate please contact Crystal Rhoades at 561-7569, or e-mail: crhoades@unomaha.edu .

For information about the technology and features of the Graffiti Scan program contact Dr. Russell Smith at 554-3188, or e-mail: rsmith@unomaha.edu.