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Graffiti on the Rise in Kalispell

By Beacon Staff

Officials are taking note of an uptick in graffiti on property in Flathead County. Symbols are appearing on public buildings and spaces, as well as on private businesses and in residential areas. The same is true in tunnels along bike trails and pedestrian paths.

Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nasset said the vandals are getting more brazen in their tagging efforts lately, marking the fronts of buildings instead of keeping to the back or sides.

Since it takes little time to create graffiti, Nasset said it is hard to catch the perpetrators in the act. It’s also hard to find the vandals because there seems to be little-to-no motive behind their actions.

“It’s just really a senseless act of criminal mischief,” Nasset said. “It happens so quickly and it happens during the dark hours.”

Some areas in downtown Kalispell are tagged with the same word or message, but police are unsure what they mean. Nasset said the similar graffiti likely comes from the same group of people, but he does not classify it as gang-related.

“Do I think it is criminal gang affiliation? No, I don’t. Do I think that they are tagging their territory? I don’t think so,” Nasset said. “I think it’s more like a moniker.”

The Kalispell City Council heard from business owners about the graffiti at a Nov. 21 hearing, during which councilors saw photos of graffiti and listened to Nasset’s concerns.

The council is trying to get a handle on how much graffiti is out there, Nasset said, and police are talking with private business owners about partnering up to stop the vandals. Anyone found committing the crime will be dealt with “to the full extent of the law,” he said.

Shareen Springer, director of the Center for Restorative Youth Justice, has a good idea where the vandalism hot spots are. CRYJ works with local youth to clean up graffiti in the area, and she believes this summer presented more defacement than any in the past few years.

“There’s definitely been more graffiti downtown,” Springer said last week.

Tunnels also collect graffiti, she said, including the new pedestrian path near Flathead Valley Community College and the Kidsports Complex.

For August and September, Springer estimates that CRYJ teams spent 20 hours removing graffiti and could not get to all of it. It takes serious effort to remove the vandals’ paint, she said, but the center’s removal supplies don’t work in weather colder than 50 degrees.

And, since CRYJ is donation-based and nonprofit, it’s a challenge to keep its resources stocked.

“We do the best we can do but we’re pretty limited,” Springer said.

Nasset asked anyone who witnesses vandalism in progress or knows who is behind the graffiti to report it. Reports can be made anonymously via Crime Stoppers and a reward is possible, he said. The police chief also noted that the graffiti symbols are likely emblazoned on the perpetrators’ personal items.

Community members of all ages should be interested in keeping buildings and other structures free of graffiti, Nasset said, because it maintains a level of local pride and aesthetic. Everyone should have a role in keeping it presentable, he added.

“This is everybody’s community, not just the adults and not just the people who get in trouble,” Nasset said. “It’s everybody’s community.”

To contact Crime Stoppers, call 406-752-8477 (TIPS). For non-emergencies, the Kalispell Police Department can be reached at 406-758-7780. The Center for Restorative Youth Justice can be contacted at 406-257-7400.