Graffiti abatement in Austin: Here’s what you need to know
Austin’s Graffiti Park at Castle Hill is officially the city’s only open canvas for spray painters to express themselves. But when graffiti pops up in neighborhoods and on private property, it’s considered vandalism. Questions often arise about how to handle graffiti, so here are some of the answers we’ve found:
What counts as graffiti?
The city defines graffiti as “markings, such as initials, slogans or drawings, that are written, spray-painted or etched in any manner on property such as a sidewalk or wall of a building without consent of the owner.”
How can you report graffiti on your property?
Call 311, the city of Austin’s call system for nonemergency crimes, including vandalism, to report graffiti. Use 911 only if you are seeing someone in the act of defacing property because that would be an occurring crime that police can investigate.
Does the city provide any assistance?
Once reported, the complainant can request that Austin police to investigate the graffiti and have someone from the city remove the graffiti for free. If the tagging or other graffiti is on a sidewalk or traffic sign, which is considered city property, the city will do the cleanup.
What if you want to remove the graffiti yourself ?
If individuals decide to remove graffiti themselves and want to file a police report, they should wait until officers come to investigate the graffiti before removing it. Austinites can pick up free paint from the city if they want to remove the graffiti themselves or they can request assistance when they make their report to Austin’s 311, which will send members of the Austin Youth Development Program to remove the graffiti for free.
How long do you have to remove the graffiti?
City ordinance requires property owners to get rid of graffiti within 30 days.
Will you be fined if it’s not removed?
Property owners will not be