Coachella needs your help battling graffiti

The entire wall behind Lilian Lucero’s home in Coachella is covered in graffiti and so are many other walls across the city.

“It doesn’t look nice in the city,” said Lucero. “You can see it almost everywhere.”

The city got a complaint about the illegal markings and one tag at a time the Graffiti Abatement team sprayed over them. It won’t stop there.

The city needs your help by calling the Coachella Graffiti Hotline at 1-888-600-6250 to report any of graffiti damage done in your neighborhood.

“We’re probably averaging five to 10 calls a week. We’d like to see it used more,” said Maritza Martinez, public works director for Coachella.

Your calls remain anonymous, just give the location of the graffiti. It’ll be removed from public walls within two business days. If your home or business gets vandalized, the city offers 5 gallons of white, tan or gray paint for you to cover it.

“People are our eyes and ears. We ask if you see issues please report it. It helps us respond to it quicker,” said Martinez.

“That way we can cover what doesn’t look nice on your property, something someone else damaged or did,” said Lucero.

The damage costs the city, businesses and homeowners thousands of dollars to clean each year. Under a new city policy, it could cost parents as much as $25,000 per tag if their child’s caught doing the crime.

“The way the economy is right now I don’t think they can pay that, but it’s something that can scare them,” said Lucero.

If you see people in the act, tagging in your area, call 911.