http://www.ramonasentinel.com/2012/12/12/sheriffs-crime-prevention-corner-join-the-ramona-graffiti-%e2%80%98krew%e2%80%99/ Ramona's Community Paper Since 1886 Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.3 http://www.ramonasentinel.com/2012/12/12/sheriffs-crime-prevention-corner-join-the-ramona-graffiti-%e2%80%98krew%e2%80%99/#comment-581546 Don Scott Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:35:27 +0000 http://www.ramonasentinel.com/?p=19798#comment-581546 Actually, Maybe we (the Adults) are missing the point, or from another point of view, maybe we (the Adults) are "missing the big picture". We are seeing pictures, letters, words but might not be getting the message. Yes, in many cases, a youth or young adult, posts / tags etc. his graffiti to mark his spot or his territory (Gang related or not), speaks out… but in most cases, it is actually an expression, a chance to open up, fell free or maybe just do something big for all to see. “Hey”, “Yo”, “Check it out” or just to fit in with a particular crowd…Did we ever think about that? If so what have we done about it to correct the problem? So, agreed, yes, in the wrong place it is considered Vandalism or defacing public or private property. If they are caught, it usually results in punishment and there you go… now we have another angry youth to look for revenge while he still wanders or looks for the right direction to go. We all have learned by our mistakes. A little “fine tuning” or “strokes of the brush in the right direction” could minimize a lot of the mistakes if we are pro active. When a person is having a bad day, maybe a bad outlook on life, they may say something that is disrespectful or degrading. So a good response from you might be to respond in a Positive and respectful way back to them. I have found that in many cases, if you bring out the good side in each case, much good will come of it. No, I am not a “Yes Man” but I do feel that with a little of help from the adults, we can turn the energy that these youths are using into a positive outcome if we are willing to step up. When we decide to work more closely with the youth of today and help them along the rough road to a path of success, then maybe we all will “see the light” and “the big picture”. It would be a waste to ignore the effort or messages put out by our youth weather it is good or bad. They are saying something, let’s listen. Lack of proper guidance is, in many cases, the cause of youth problems such as Graffiti, vandalism, elder abuse, domestic violence and as a result, we end up with a degraded sense of good moral values. Time goes by as “status quo” and then we wonder later on why so many things seem to go awry…? We are the adults and, hopefully we have been through some of the same things that our youth are going through today and hopefully someone has been there to get us back on track. So, as adults and or as parents, it is OUR responsibility to help the youth stay on the right track or at least, head somewhat in the right direction. It worked for me…. Now, let’s make it work for them. Don Scott Ramona, Ca Actually, Maybe we (the Adults) are missing the point, or from another point of view, maybe we (the Adults) are "missing the big picture". We are seeing pictures, letters, words but might not be getting the message.
Yes, in many cases, a youth or young adult, posts / tags etc. his graffiti to mark his spot or his territory (Gang related or not), speaks out… but in most cases, it is actually an expression, a chance to open up, fell free or maybe just do something big for all to see. “Hey”, “Yo”, “Check it out” or just to fit in with a particular crowd…Did we ever think about that? If so what have we done about it to correct the problem?
So, agreed, yes, in the wrong place it is considered Vandalism or defacing public or private property. If they are caught, it usually results in punishment and there you go… now we have another angry youth to look for revenge while he still wanders or looks for the right direction to go. We all have learned by our mistakes. A little “fine tuning” or “strokes of the brush in the right direction” could minimize a lot of the mistakes if we are pro active.
When a person is having a bad day, maybe a bad outlook on life, they may say something that is disrespectful or degrading. So a good response from you might be to respond in a Positive and respectful way back to them.
I have found that in many cases, if you bring out the good side in each case, much good will come of it.
No, I am not a “Yes Man” but I do feel that with a little of help from the adults, we can turn the energy that these youths are using into a positive outcome if we are willing to step up.
When we decide to work more closely with the youth of today and help them along the rough road to a path of success, then maybe we all will “see the light” and “the big picture”.
It would be a waste to ignore the effort or messages put out by our youth weather it is good or bad.
They are saying something, let’s listen.
Lack of proper guidance is, in many cases, the cause of youth problems such as Graffiti, vandalism, elder abuse, domestic violence and as a result, we end up with a degraded sense of good moral values.
Time goes by as “status quo” and then we wonder later on why so many things seem to go awry…?
We are the adults and, hopefully we have been through some of the same things that our youth are going through today and hopefully someone has been there to get us back on track. So, as adults and or as parents, it is OUR responsibility to help the youth stay on the right track or at least, head somewhat in the right direction.
It worked for me…. Now, let’s make it work for them.
Don Scott
Ramona, Ca

]]> http://www.ramonasentinel.com/2012/12/12/sheriffs-crime-prevention-corner-join-the-ramona-graffiti-%e2%80%98krew%e2%80%99/#comment-565178 Ranbud Wed, 12 Dec 2012 21:56:24 +0000 http://www.ramonasentinel.com/?p=19798#comment-565178 Here is the problem, thinking that removing graffiti is going to stop it, is just not practical. Removing graffiti quickly will slow down the graffiti is put up at that location, but it does nothing to actually stop the vandalism from happening at a different location. There are only two ways to stop graffiti. 1. Education program from grade 1 and up, and 2. You need to catch the vandals in the act of placing the graffiti, then get them into the court system where controls can be placed on them as well as stiff penalties. Sounds hard to do? actually there are tools today that have been proven to actually catch the vandals while they are still at the location. In a recent city, 12 high profile vandals were caught in a 48 hour period by using this same system. If all you do is remove and paint over graffiti, they cost will never go down, and will never stop. The Nograf Network Inc is a non profit that gives you the information on what works, and it is all free of charge. Here is the problem, thinking that removing graffiti is going to stop it, is just not practical. Removing graffiti quickly will slow down the graffiti is put up at that location, but it does nothing to actually stop the vandalism from happening at a different location. There are only two ways to stop graffiti. 1. Education program from grade 1 and up, and 2. You need to catch the vandals in the act of placing the graffiti, then get them into the court system where controls can be placed on them as well as stiff penalties. Sounds hard to do? actually there are tools today that have been proven to actually catch the vandals while they are still at the location. In a recent city, 12 high profile vandals were caught in a 48 hour period by using this same system. If all you do is remove and paint over graffiti, they cost will never go down, and will never stop. The Nograf Network Inc is a non profit that gives you the information on what works, and it is all free of charge.

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