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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Emergency Services, Feb. 24 Man critically burned in trailer fire Medford, Ashland districts fall short of anti-bullying standards Pot growers could raise electricity rates in Ashland, official says Medford's second-hand law gets a second look Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency Services, Feb. 24 Man critically burned in trailer fire Medford neighbors take up arms against a sea of graffiti Emergency Services, Feb. 23 Car crashes into new south Medford home Politics and Elections Ballots on Jackson County marijuana tax go out Friday Brown's inauguration brings hope to local lawmakers Kate Brown sworn in as Oregon's 38th governor Gov. Kitzhaber steps down, federal investigation begins Gov. 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Medford, Ashland districts fall short of anti-bullying standards ... Medford's second-hand law gets a second look ... Man critically burned in trailer fire ... Medford, Ashland districts fall short of anti-bullying standards ... Medford's second-hand law gets a second look ... SUNDAY FOCUS: VANDALISM Medford neighbors take up arms against a sea of graffiti Neighbors take up arms against a sea of graffiti Comment By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 22, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated at 12:11 PM A citizen group has banded together to take on Medford's graffiti problem one vandalized surface at a time. By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 22, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated at 12:11 PM » RELATED CONTENT --> Graffiti incidents by year in Medford: 2010: 642 2011: 1,000 2012: 405 2013: 346 2014: 388 2015 year-to-date: 1... » Read more X Graffiti incidents by year in Medford: 2010: 642 2011: 1,000 2012: 405 2013: 346 2014: 388 2015 year-to-date: 110 — Source: Medford police   Symbols and their meanings: SUR 13, or X13: Surenos, Spanish for Southerners, is a large street/prison gang that was founded in California and has ties to the Mexican Mafia prison gang. The number 13 represents the letter "M," the 13th  letter of the alphabet, to denote  Mexican Mafia. Blue is its traditional color. SUR: Short for Surenos. Offshoots active in Oregon include Tiny Boys Surenos (TBS) and Krazy Wicked Surenos (KWS). VLS: Likely stands for Vatos Locos, a street gang active in Oregon, California, Washington and several other states. VL and VL X3 are two other tags associated with the gang. KWS: Krazy Wicked Surenos, a mostly Hispanic street gang. Other tags include KWS 13 and KWS X3. RAW:  Ready And Willing: This predominantly Hispanic street gang is most active in Medford and Central Point. Blue is its traditional color. Other common symbols: X14: Nortenos, Spanish for Northerners, a gang closely affiliated with the prison gang Nuestra Familia. The number 14 represents the letter "N," the 14th letter of the alphabet. Red is its traditional color. FTP, FTL:  "F--- the police," "F--- the law." VDF: Vario Dub Flats gang, a subset of Sureños gang SWED: Smoke Weed Every Day — Sources: www.accuracyproject.org and Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement   Tips for property owners: • Make sure outside areas are well-lit. Typically, vandals prefer the cloak of darkness. • Eliminate graffiti immediately. Removing tags within 48 hours has been shown to be effective in discouraging repeat incidents. • Keep an eye out for neighbors. Let them know when they get tagged, in case the vandalism occurred in an area they may not notice immediately. • Report any suspicious activity or loitering to police. • Report vandalism to police and take photos of it before removing it. • Graffiti tags in Medford » Social News On a sunny February day, Randi Brock steps to the edge of a Medford alley off Jackson Street and surveys the damage: angry scrawls of spray paint that don fences, siding and doors like scars. "If you go all the way down this alley, it's on every house," Brock says. "Every single house." There are hopeful signs in the alley, too: new coats of white paint that drown out the anti-police and pro-gang messages. Brock and Errin Parker, both of the West Side Beautification volunteer group, get to work adding more. Brushes in hand, they spend about 10 minutes painting over a tagged wall until the writing can't be seen. "If you're driving past this every day, it sets the tone," Parker says. "Complacency breeds complacency. We're here to point out nobody's alone." West Side Beautification members have been at this less than two months. They're driven, but when it comes to eradicating graffiti, they've got their work cut out for them. Medford police already have responded to more than 110 incidents of graffiti this year. By comparison, there were 388 for all of 2014, and 346 in 2013. It's a crime that doesn't require much time: just a few seconds of holding a spray-paint can steady before dashing away. "It's really hard to catch them in the act," says Medford police Lt. Mike Budreau. It's also a crime that leaves property owners holding the bag for the cleanup. They must remove the graffiti within 10 days or face a $250 fine under Medford city code. Police say compliance is rarely an issue, but admit there have been grumblings from property owners after they receive the letter from the city. "People are often taken aback by that and sometimes even offended," Budreau says. "Because really, they’ve already been a victim, and now we’re threatening them with a fine if they don’t get it removed. "There has to be some type of motivation for them to clean it up.” West Side Beautification  Brock's own motivation started after hearing numerous complaints about the problem, both on social media and by word of mouth. It came to a head about two months ago. “I just couldn’t help it anymore," Brock says. "I was like, 'Hey, look, we can’t put a cop on every piece of property. They’re doing what they can.'" But Brock was bothered by the graffiti just as much as her neighbors. A previous resident of Seattle, she grew up around gangs in what she calls "a pretty bad neighborhood." She doesn't want her 9-year-old son to grow up in a similar environment. "I want my son to be proud of his hometown," she says. "I want him to know that he comes from a great part of town, and I want to give him that pride." She started a Facebook group to address the issue and started cleaning up where she could. Word got around. Less than two months later, the West Side Beautification group has grown to about 400. Members mobilize when they can, sometimes daily, to clean up trash and paint over graffiti on much of West Main Street and Columbus Avenue. Cleanup on a recent sizable tag at the Peach Street Market was their handiwork, too. There are other public service agencies making small strides to combat the problem. Phil Ortega, who does work with the Jackson County Gang Task Force, says a countywide survey administered last year showed graffiti is one of the top crime-related issues area residents and business owners worry about. “Not just graffiti, but tagging with lack of purpose," Ortega says. "That’s something we really wanted to kind of have a multidisciplinary approach (to).” Medford has a Graffiti Abatement Program, though its efforts focus primarily on city-owned property that has been tagged: parks, the Bear Creek Greenway, signs. Community Service Officer Todd Sales says the agency sometimes will lend a hand to property owners who physically cannot wash the markings off themselves. "We can reach out to folks like that on a case-by-case basis," Sales says. "It would be wonderful to reach out to everybody and help them out, but the law's written that way (that cleanup is the homeowner's responsibility). That's why it's so wonderful to see community groups step up. To say, 'We're going to take care of that collectively.' We're in support of that." Some residents see their places vandalized time and time again. Anna Brocchini, who lives near South Medford High School, says her property has been tagged twice: once in 2012 on a picnic table at a restaurant she used to own, and the most recent on her home back in December. In that incident, the culprits left the acronym "SWED," which reportedly stands for "smoke weed every day." Other popular monikers police are used to seeing include "X13" and "X14," symbols of the Sureños and Norteños gangs, respectively, and "FTL" or "FTP," profane acronyms directed at law enforcement. Brocchini says she used a pressure washer to get the paint off her stained fence in the rain after finding out the city's graffiti abatement program couldn't help her out. "If you look up close you can still see it, but I got the majority of it,” Brocchini says. Jamie and Darin Chase have had to repaint a fence at their Medford rental property multiple times, with several of the taggings occurring over the last couple months. “I want to take pride in where I live. I love Southern Oregon, and that (graffiti) just announces all the trash all over,” Jamie Chase says. “It’s really making our whole city look bad when it’s not a bad city. “There has to be something you could do. I just don’t know what that is.” People helping where they can Brock, Parker and others in West Side Beautification say they are trying to be part of the solution. While they continue their work in the alley, company pops by. Joey Liles, who donated some of the paint, looks on at their work through his fence. "I think it's awesome," Liles says. "When you do service, you get out of yourself and do good for others. I figured if they're going to do the labor, I can give them the paint." Minutes later, another resident pops by and presses a $10 bill in Parker's hand. He tells her it's for more supplies, and she accepts it. "We appreciate what you do," the man says. This has been the norm so far: people helping where they can, giving where they're able. Various businesses and individuals have donated a generator, paints, brushes and other materials. The group has a Go Fund Me account and is trying to partner with a local nonprofit so they can have access to additional resources and bodies. "Almost everybody participating is buying their own supplies," Brock says. "This is all just neighbors helping neighbors." Being a good neighbor who's alert and reports anything that seems out of sorts is also key in preventing graffiti, law enforcement says. “It’s tough in the alleys sometimes, but know who’s around your place," says Lt. Kevin Walruff of the Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement team. "If someone’s loitering in the back in the alley, report that.” Well-lit areas are less likely to be targeted, and property owners who take the graffiti down within 48 hours are less likely to be tagged again, police say. Brock says she recognizes there's never going to be a day when she can hang up the brush and bucket, but she thinks her group's efforts can significantly reduce the eyesores around town. A second alleyway surface finished, she and Parker stand back and take stock of their work. "Looking better?" Parker says. "Heck yeah," Brock says. Parker nods: "You can't tell what was there." Satisfied, the pair move on to start all over again on another tag. "I don't know how many people are doing the spray painting on the houses, but I can guarantee you there's more of us," Brock says. "I think we're kind of on the winning team here." Reach reporter Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/ryanpfeil . By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 22, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated at 12:11 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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