Sheriff’s Volunteer Team Launched Graffiti Abatement Program in Santa Ynez Valley

September 7, 2007 - Santa Ynez Valley

On Friday August 31, 2007 the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department launched a new Graffiti Abatement Program under the direction of the Sheriff’s Volunteer Team. Members of the Sheriff’s Volunteer Team, armed with paint and rollers, painted over graffiti that had been accumulating in secluded areas around the City of Buellton. This Graffiti Abatement Program (GAP) is a pilot program for the Santa Ynez Valley area, and will be working to cover graffiti in the areas of Buellton, Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley. The supplies have been donated by Santa Barbara County Roads, and the Cities of Buellton and Solvang.

Graffiti in these areas has increased over the years. It is important to remove graffiti as soon as it appears so graffiti vandalism does not become an overwhelming problem. The Sheriff’s Department recognizes the need to stay proactive in graffiti abatement as well as enforcement of vandalism laws to maintain a quality of life in the communities we serve. In addition to the graffiti abatement, the Sheriff’s Department will be increasing enforcement efforts to apprehend those individuals responsible for graffiti vandalism. Any vandalism causing damage in excess of $400 is a felony.

The Sheriff’s Volunteer Team is a group of volunteers who give freely of their time. It is a pro-active, non-confrontational, community-based crime prevention program which models a cooperative effort between citizen volunteers and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. The program is designed to reduce local crime and social disorder by improving the effectiveness of law enforcement response, increasing patrol coverage, reducing Department workloads, and strengthening the partnerships between sworn and non-sworn personnel and the communities we serve.

The Sheriff’s department is regularly looking for members of our community who might be interested in joining our team. For additional information on this program please contact Senior Deputy Sandra Brown at 686-8150 at the Buellton Police Department.

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