well, how many residents have been made throughout the whole city throughout the district as well as up at silver? >> ok. >> as far as the arrests go, we have 89 so far this year. 89 incidents and a lot of those incidents involved multiple defendants. you might have three or four in one arrest. 9 cases thus far. >> convictions? >> let me just say just as a follow-up because we just ran a lot -- i figured this was going to be one of the questions. of those it turns out to be a little over 100 defendants. just as he said, each incident may include one or two or more individuals. and from those, just so you understand how it works for the criminal justice system, 60 of them are adults and 40 of them are juveniles, which means they're in a different track and they go to the juvenile court. but when a case comes into the criminal justice system, it takes several months, sometimes

longer for cases to go through the system for them to get arraigned, for them to have pretrials, for them to have random hearings and challenging motions to suppress before any of the cases start coming up and through trial. for those of you that follow carefully, we just had our first graffiti conviction of the year just last week where someone was just sentenced to over 200 hours and probation of graffiti cleanup from a vandalism incident and a graffiti incident hear outside of delores park. so i don't know if that answers the question, but it's more information about those numbers based on this year. >> [inaudible] >> yeah. >> with the business being hit repeatedly, again, we encourage everyone to use the 311 number because we actually use the statistics and see the concentrations of where the areas that are getting hit. what we do with that data is we

actually sit down with the police department, highway patrol, wherever the location is and we're going to start doing quite a bit of sting operation. as you know, sting operations are costly so we've also been investing in new technology. just last week, someone sent me an ample i think it was in san jose. it was actually a new device now -- it's a military device. you can puten it on the walls. when somebody sprays that can, you can hear the sound and it sends a message directly to the police. so far, i think they have made 16 arrests this year just by using the device. we will be experimenting. >> one more question and then we're going to have to close the questions. the lady here in the front in the gray sweater. >> i care> thank you. i care for a small church in the outer mission and i am a business owner. i am wondering if there is initiative to increase exterior lighting.

it seems to help in some areas. the lighting is not as good as others -- not as good in others. >> good question. it is a budgetary question as well as increasing street lighting to prohibit -- >> we work for the san francisco public utilities commission. you can contact your supervisor. i will ask for an audit. they will evaluate existing street lights. in some cases, you can bring it up a little bit. consult with the neighbors so they do not end up with more light in their household. it is best to do it for your supervisor. i am so glad that all of the boards have our members on them. it is great check out impeachment -- it is great acknowledgement of the work they do. "tier supervisor and we will be happy to work on it.

-- go to your supervisor and we will be happy to work on it. >> i do want to mention that the darker blue areas on the map as a whole are the concentration of where graffiti is. there are yellow marks that indicates those blocks have been adopted by local people, residents, store owners that live there or work there. all of the blocks in san francisco are up for adoption. everybody can take on their own block. >> or more. >> and help eradicate the graffiti. if we did not get to your question, i am sorry. please put it on the board in the back. we will put those up on the website and answer them for you. we will get your question. it will be in a couple of days. pardon me? after the second -- there is another panel discussion coming up. there is another question and

answer session. stick around. maybe your question will be answered. >> during the break, all of us are available. also, here in the back of the room, the lawyer that i was talking about that just won the first graffiti trial -- wave, maria. [applause] she will be available, too. we are all on facebook. >> i wanted to thank the panelists for their time. >> we are going to win this time. >> we're not going to take it. our next panel is going to be -- there is no break. where am i? ok. fred is the former san francisco

television supervisor -- television broadcaster. john is the united school district's facilities management. city administrator ed lee. louis kenselle, start. can we have everyone take their seats? this is like herding cats. >> good afternoon, everyone. i am the executive director of maintenance and operations for the school district.

my job right now is to introduce our next speaker, who has a familiar face for those of you who have lived here in the area for a while. he anchored the news on channel 4 back in the turbulent 1970's. [applause] he co hosted with his wife "a.m. san francisco," the morning talk show on kgo tv channel 7 in the 1980's. in the 1990's, he anchored the weekly syndicated show "silicon valley business this week." today, he comes to us not as a tv broadcaster, but as a

homeowner and a business operator in san francisco for 30 years. he has gotten involved in many firsthand experiences with graffiti in his neighborhood over the years. i asked him if he would help us out today by showing us how all san franciscans can get involved in defeating graffiti. dpw's public information office provided fred with a myriad of documents about san francisco's graffiti prevention. he sorted through all of them and has condensed for us some concrete suggestions about how you can get involved in zero

graffiti for a beautiful city. please welcome fred. [applause] >> i do not know if you will appreciate this, but it is a joy for a former corporal in the army to be introduced by an admiral from the navy. i have arrived, ladies and gentlemen. i have arrived. my purpose in being here is to start with questions. what the devil does a 0 graffiti for our beautiful city have to do with you particularly? how can you help defeat graffiti here in san francisco? how can you get involved? it depends on who you are, really. there are different you's here. if you are a homeowner, renter, business owner, student, or apparent, there are ways you can help. if you are on a jury or you have

anything to do with our judicial system, there are specific ways it can help. if you are none of the above but you fall into the category of what we call concerned citizens, yes, there are concrete ideas we will pass on. if you are any of the above and use the existing graffiti, and almost all of you held up your hands, there are certain things you should be doing to help defeat it. if you are a witness to a graffiti act in progress, there are specific things the dpw would like me to pass on. finally, the question is for you to decide who you are. let me take each one of you step-by-step and show you how you can get involved in making san francisco -- to continue to be a beautiful city. let me begin with you, the homeowner or the business operator. if you see graffiti on the side of your building, a window, a

doorway, sidewalk, what should you do? five specific steps. first, make sure you are prepared to remove it. take a picture. remove the graffiti. report to the vandalism. finally, prevent future graffiti tagging. let me take each one of them one by one. we will have some concrete ideas. first, be prepared to remove it in advance. have a can of matching paint and brush or a good graffiti remover on hand to remove it quickly. two, take a picture. sometimes come investigators will recognize the graffiti tags of specific vandals. that can help them. for the police department, i acre-feet the abatement team maintains a database of information and they take pictures of common tax and other

tips that identify habitual offenders. that helps them build a case against them. beef -- be sure to report the cost. damage to the property in excess of $400 as a felony. a vandal who commits a felony can face jail time or 96 hours of community service. third, remove the graffiti as soon as you can. within 48 hours would be ideal. that usually discourages more graffiti. if you remove it, it is much less likely to spread. how do you clean it? here is good advice. at the graffiti is on a painted surface, keep that can of matching paint on hand. paint over it. simple enough. if it is on a surface such as glass or metal, sometimes, a razor blade will take it off. another good idea. if not, purchase a good graffiti remover from a hardware or paint

store. if it is on the masonry surface, that is tougher. stone, brick, concrete, that is tougher to remove. you might have to sand blasted or power wash it off. you might just want to paint it. if it is a big job, such as removing acid etching from brando's, there are contractors all over the city who specialize in graffiti removal. you will find a list of contractors on the dpw website. sfgov/dpw. or, go to the table in the back after the meeting. four, reporting it. file a police report when your property is vandalized. an easy way to do it is on-line. i just search this morning and it came up. as a matter of fact, an interesting and easy form to the lot. you will be given a case number.

another way to do it is to call 553-0123. that is the police non-emergency number. report the graffiti and the police will take it from there. if you want to, go to your closest police precinct station and bring your photos. after you have made sure you are prepared, that you've taken pictures, you have cleaned it up, and report it, consider the future. how do we prevent future graffiti? there were many ways to do that. a blank wall is an open invitation to a graffiti tagger. you might limit their access to your blank wall by such things as maybe planting thorny shrubs in the area. angled roof tops, those are prime targets for graffiti vandals because their tax can be seen from a distance, to give them more fame in their criminal culture. resist access to your roof.

consider also installing sensitive motion lights around your property as well as motion sensitive cameras. in my neighborhood, a lot of the people have them. it does not go on and off all the time, but you wonder when the flashing lights are going off. that can be effective. if you have a wall that continually gets tacked, you might consider putting up a mural. a mural can beautify your property and it is less likely to be vandalized. the arts commission and the city have a new program called street smarts where artists will be paired with property owners who want to have a mural on their wall. if you do all of these things, you will see a decline in graffiti attacks on their property. you will also avoid getting graffiti notices, which nobody likes to get. if you keep up the good work, you will avoid graffiti. you will see the results and the

city will be more beautiful. if you do feel that excess of graffiti might be creating unfair hardships for you, you can ask for help. if you would like to request a hearing to explain your situation, to air your complaints, you may write to the director of public works. where is he? ed still around? by the way, call the telephone number. call the telephone number on the graffiti notice of violation. you can get more information and possibly get a hearing. that is the advice for two of you. the homeowner and the business operator. let's turn to many of you in san francisco. a lot of them are here called renters. here's what to do. if you see any graffiti on your rental property, make sure your landlord hears about it quickly. it is their responsibility to clean it up and the property owner will also want to report that vandalism. you might have as a renter a good enough relationship with

your landlord to actually help by even taking pictures and help cleaning up the graffiti. make sure you are in touch with them. there is another you that plays a critical role in understanding -- in helping young kids' understanding graffiti is not art. it is a crime. that is you the teacher. your class can adopt the block around your school and help clean up graffiti. call 311 if you're interested. there's also a pilot program called "where art lives," a graffiti education project. you'll be hearing more details later this afternoon. if you are apparent, that is another you. you are one of the most important in this audience. make sure you know your child and what he or she is doing or not doing. there are a number of ways. ask yourself, when does my child out of the house?

when is he or she home? out late at night or early morning? i would be suspicious if i were you. how about a new, very large backpack, or baggy pants? great places to hide graffiti tools. any pain or stains on their fingertips or underneath the fingernails? could they be attacker? any tax on your child walls, books, or clothing that look familiar? looks somewhat like graffiti on the walls on your street? i would be suspicious of that. and the obvious graffiti paraphernalia in their possession such as markers, etching tools, spray-painted, duh. that becomes all the more obvious. you get the idea. make sure your child is not a graffiti vandal. not only do you help them respect the law and other people's property, it can be very expensive for you. you as a parent could be prosecuted for failing to supervise your kids and be

sentenced to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine. that will get your attention. as a parent, you are also responsible for the damage caused by your children, including repairs and attorney fees up to $10,000. if you have not fallen into any one of these categories i have talked about, you might be in the largest category, concerned citizens. let me suggest a variety of ways you can get involved. you can volunteer to remove graffiti by joining e graffiti watch program. dpw will train you and provide you with supplies to remove graffiti in your neighborhood. you can adopt your street in the adopt a street program. dpw will provide free supplies to clean up graffiti. get your neighbors involved to help keep your neighborhood clean. if you are asked to serve on a

graffiti trial jury, be willing and be very proud to serve. that will be another way of showing that you are concerned about graffiti and you take this crime seriously. you, the concerned citizen, can write letters to elected officials. they love receiving them. don't you? persuade them that graffiti vandals should be fine before committing a criminal act. currently, no fines are imposed in san francisco cases. other cities have fines. if you think of other ideas, do what has been suggested already. take one of those little stick- ums, posted in the back. dpw will make sure your questions are answered. there is another letter you can write. you can support bevin because he will see a justice in three

days. write him a letter. superior court judge, the presiding judge of the superior court. urge him to appoint a judge to hear all graffiti vandalism cases in san francisco. if repeat offenders have to appear before the same judge, the consequences might be greater. they could think more about it. there are many ways that you concerned citizens can get involved. all of you fit into our next category. i am sure you have all seen existing graffiti, whether it is on the side of the building, on a bus, a street sign, a restaurant, a mailbox, whatever. from now on, do not to say, don, there is another one. do not ignore it. please do something about that. reported to the city by calling 311. the call center is the city's clearing house for citizen

requests to remove graffiti. you can also report it by going online. sf311.com. it the graffiti is on public property, call 311. they will notify the appropriate department. that department has the responsibility of cleaning it up. if it is on private property, dpw will investigate and send a notice to the property owner with instructions to have it removed. now for a you -- you the witness. if you see a graffiti act in progress, but you're doing. it call 911. -- stop what you are doing. call 911. who, what, where? tell the operator, two men are spray-painted graffiti on a street sign at the corner of the streets. one is wearing a gray sweatshirt and the other one is wearing a red jacket.

please have the police respond. that is an example. the operator wants more, tell them to -- keep it concise. sometimes, 911 operators get so busy, they cannot answer your call right away. i know that. i have had that happen to me in the past. do not give up. if you cannot get through, be patient. 911 works. 911 graffiti calls have doubled the past two years in san francisco and arrests have also doubled. calling 911 can be very effective at reducing graffiti. when you call to report graffiti in progress, please do not confront the vandal. it may not be dangerous, but it could be. avoid that. the next thing you should do is try to take a picture of that graffiti act in progress. without the vandals seeing you, of course. a still picture or video.

still is easier to work with, but if you can get the deal, right. that can help authorities prosecute. if the criminals leave the area before police arrived, call the police department. 553-0123. tell them about the crime that has been committed. if you have taken pictures, they might suggest you e-mail them to the san francisco police department graffiti unit. their e-mail address is sfpd_ graffiti_unit@pacbell.net. you have all of this information in your packet. officers might come to your door to get the information, depending on how busy they are. you could be eligible for a $250 reward from the city's graffiti reports on that you provide information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of a graffiti vandal. to qualify, call 5 -- call 311

and ask for a reward claim form. you can download -- download one from the district attorney's website. be sure to get the police case number to apply. be willing in the future to cooperate with the prosecution of that vandal. there is one final you i would like to address. that is you, the perpetrator. the graffiti vandal. there might be one or more of you in this audience today. san francisco citizens are becoming less patient with your kind. they are learning more about you. they're learning that many of you are teenagers with low self- esteem. you become a tagger to achieve what your gang of vandals calls fame. san franciscans are learning that almost half of you graffiti vandals are in your 20's or early 30's when you do not live here. you come here to make a name for yourself in your criminal

culture. we are saddened by your belief that it is ok to break the law without considering the impact of your vandalism on victims. yes, we are even saddened by the fact that many of you are now serving time in prison because you really do not have to. the city knows, by the way, that you need more programs that will channel your creativity towards art and other constructive activities. it is difficult to find that money to pay for the programs. you as a vandal cost the city of san francisco more than $20 million a year in taxpayer money to clean up after you. san franciscans are becoming more vigilant about to endure vandalism. now is the time to give up your life of graffiti vandalism and channel your love of art into legal ways of expressing it.

whoever you are, homeowner, business operator, renter, a teacher, student, concerned citizen, a witness, you are being very good by supporting us today with your presence. dpw would like to thank you. you are showing your support for zero graffiti for a beautiful city. you can also show your support -- you will take a pledge. didn't your packet. get out this little card. -- dig out your packet. get out this little card. get out this card. follow along. what i'm going to do is read off the pledge out loud. you will see the tiny squares were you can check those areas where it is appropriate for you to get involved. do you have it out here? you are ahead of me. i hereby pledge to help make san

francisco a graffiti free city by committing to do one or more of the following. the first one is, report graffiti vandalism by calling 311 or visiting sfgov.org/311. i think you should check that one. please show your interest and your willingness to help. call 911 when i see graffiti vandalism in progress. please check that one. check it off. you have it in front of you. immediately report vandalism to my landlord when it appears in my building. if you are a renter, certainly. check it off. remove graffiti vandalism from my property within 48 hours. if you own your property, it works. they tend not to come back. check that one off if you are a homeowner. teach the children in my life that is wrong to write for make marks on other people's property. if you have children in your

family, or any children you know, check that one. join the graffiti what or adopt a street and help remove graffiti vandalism in my neighborhood. you might consider that. support and a graffiti legislation by writing or making phone calls to elected officials. please check that one off. that is how this democratic republic of ours works. everyone is involved in the process. i will serve on a jury for a graffiti vandalism case. i hope you check that one because it will help prosecute vandals. i want to to complete that pledge. maybe you did not do it all right now, but make sure you complete it and check off the ones important to you. i want you to fill in your name, your address, your telephone number, and your e-mail address. at the end of the social hour, there will be a b a