Gary City officials outline tougher graffiti enforcement, public works to buy abatement equipment

Gary City officials and residents discussed a proposed graffiti ordinance, enforcement procedures and a new cleanup plan at a council meeting. Public Works Director Carla said the city is buying graffiti-abatement equipment and will use contractors until the equipment arrives; police described the legal standard required to arrest or charge alleged taggers, and a resident criticized a past public-art policy that invited artists to paint city property.

The discussion matters to downtown merchants and property owners because the ordinance would add local penalties and enforcement tools and because city staff said cleanup will prioritize publicly owned corridors first. Public comment and council questions focused on how fines were set, whether merchants or building owners would be responsible for removal, and how the police would develop evidence to pursue criminal charges.

City staff defended the proposed fines as comparable to those used in other Indiana cities and said repeat offenders would face higher penalties. "I researched other cities' fines and fees," a city staff member said, adding the city's rates were typical of Valpo and other municipalities. Council members asked that merchants and building owners be notified in writing about the new rules so they will not be surprised if they receive citations.

On policing and prosecution, a police spokesperson explained that tagging or vandalism is treated under state criminal law as a misdemeanor and must meet the misdemeanor-witness rule for an arrest or conviction. "Either police has to catch someone in the act or we have to have a credible witness that's willing to identify and testify to it," the police spokesperson said. The spokesperson said officers can "long form" suspects (arrest and release with later charges) or issue citations while investigators gather supplemental evidence from tools such as license-plate readers.

Several council members and speakers raised enforcement practicality. Councilman Washington asked whether police must witness tagging to make an arrest after receiving calls alleging a person was seen tagging; the police spokesperson replied that a credible witness can be sufficient, and that follow-up charging is possible once investigators gather additional evidence.

During public comment, resident Jim Nowaki criticized prior city policy that invited graffiti artists to paint public property under a previous administration. "From reliable sources in the police department, nobody has ever been arrested for graffiti vandalism in the city," Nowaki said, and he pointed to visible painted surfaces at the public parking lot by the bank on Fifth Avenue and the Genesis Center parking structure on Fourth Avenue as results of that policy.

Public Works Director Carla described operational steps the city is taking. She said staff have identified locations, formed a graffiti-abatement team drawn from demolition and public-works staff, and are procuring equipment. "You can expect to see, I would say within the next 30 days ... we can use contractors to help with it," Carla said, adding the city will begin on main corridors and publicly owned properties.

Council members also discussed business frontage maintenance more broadly. Staff noted the city already enforces property-maintenance ordinances that cover weeds and sidewalks and said any decision to strengthen those rules would be a separate conversation.

The meeting included confirmations that the city has added a task force and that police have recently made arrests in at least one prolific tagging case; officials said they will share publicly available arrest records when permissible. A council member asked whether the city would publicly shame offenders; staff replied they would not seek to "shame" people but would share legally available public information about arrests.

No formal vote or ordinance adoption occurred at the meeting; staff described next steps and implementation actions the administration will take pending procurement and continuing investigation.

Carla closed the operational update by reiterating the near-term timeline: "We are literally in the process of procuring equipment for the graffiti abatement ... you can expect to see within the next 30 days," she said.