Article

The Mural as Graffiti Deterrence

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Abstract

This study investigated whether the use of a colorful mural as a passive thematic prompt could significantly reduce new graffiti attacks in an area prone to graffiti. A control design with a preceding baseline tested this hypothesis. It was predicted that the mural would reduce the proportional amount of new graffiti that appeared on the mural area compared with a blank area. Acolorful muralwas painted on the section of a wall that had attracted the most graffiti during baseline. Data consisting of numbers of instances of new graffiti were recorded by two observers. Eight new graffiti attacks were recorded on the newly cleaned area with the mural after weeks (vs. 14 attacks in the fortnight of baseline). The main control section of wall was subject to significantly higher levels of graffiti during intervention than the mural section.

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... Intersecting Cohen's six types of vandalism is a further list of five motivations for vandalism and graffiti, which include: (1) gaining or sustaining membership within a 'deviant' group through anti-social acts that reinforce group membership, (2) self-esteem, (3) self-expression, (4) to disrupt the order of authority, and (5) enjoyment and the rush associated with the illegality of the behaviour (Callinan, 2002;Craw et al., 2006;Bandaranaike, 2001). ...
... In addition, they have fewer resources than the council so will eventually give up. However, they may also simply move to a different area (Craw et al., 2006). Thus, rapid removal may be effective in one area, but has the potential to simply displace or change the expression of the vandalism or graffiti. ...
... Some positive outcomes for those invited to paint the mural include recognition of talent, increased self-esteem and a sense of ownership of and investment in that area (Halsey and Young, 2002). The effectiveness of legal graffiti murals has been attributed to the rules of respect that characterise tagging cultures whereby taggers are unlikely to tag or cover someone else's work (Craw et al., 2006;Callinan, 2002). However, in a few cases, the mural has been found not to be respected and has been quickly tagged over (ERC, 2003). ...
... Some threads of research discuss the validity or usefulness of graffiti as an object of research (Lynn & Lea, 2005;Schreer & Strichartz, 1997;Klofas & Cutshall, 1985;Sechrest & Belew, 1983;Buser & Ferreira, 1980;Bates & Martin, 1980;Deiulio, 1973;Rhyne & Ullmann, 1972;Collins & Batzie, 1970), how to deter graffitists (Craw, Leland, Bussell, et al., 2006;Mueller, Moore, Doggett, & Tingstrom, 2000;Watson, 1996;Brewer, 1992;Brewer & Miller, 1990;Collins & Batzie, 1970), racial conflict in graffiti (Gyasi Obeng, 2000;Jones, 1991), gender or cultural characteristics in graffiti (Green, 2003;Norlander, Erixon, & Archer, 2000;Goikoetxea, 1998;Teixeira & Otta, 1998;Schreer & Strichartz, 1997;Otta, Santana, Lafraia, et al., 1996;Otta,1993;McMenemy & Cornish, 1993;Arluke, Kutakoff, & Levin, 1987;Olowu, 1983;Loewenstine, Ponticos, & Paludi, 1982;Ahmed, 1981;Bates & Martin, 1980;Peretti, Carter, & McLinton, 1977;Wales & Brewer, 1976;Jefferson, 1976;Farr & Gordon, 1975;Sechrest & Olson, 1971;Sechrest & Flores, 1969;Landy & Steele, 1967), and graffiti's relation to sexual issues (Livia, 2002;Weinberg, 1994Weinberg, , 2006Innala & Ernulf, 1992;Arluke, Kutakoff, & Levin, 1987). From a counter-cultural perspective, one study described official regulatory signs, such as speed or directional markers, as "official graffiti" from the perspective of the sociology of governance (Hermer & Hunt, 1996). ...
... While strategically placed murals can reduce or eliminate tags and other forms of graffiti in some public areas, Craw and colleagues (Craw, Leland, Bussell, Munday, & Walsh, 2006) found that murals, themselves, do not eliminate these acts within a city. In fact, the City of Winnipeg, which prides itself on its many murals, has continued to have an ongoing and serious problem with illegal graffiti (Winnipeg Police Service, 2005). ...
... Although Winnipeg has many murals, it continues to spend a considerable sum of public monies repairing damage from graffiti. Murals can be an important part of graffitiprevention programming, but they certainly are not the only solutions to the problem of illegal graffiti, and they do not eliminate tagging, in particular (Craw, Leland, Bussell, Munday, & Walsh, 2006). However, they might proactively help some youth redirect their energies to more prosocial ways of spending time and developing themselves as individuals. ...
Conference Paper
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The focus of this paper is on the threads of discourse that have occurred in the professional psychological literature with regard to graffiti primarily during the 20 th century. A review of psychological research on graffiti is presented, with the outcome that little consensus exists in the literature regarding graffiti. Discussion is then presented regarding graffiti as a culture-based concept, as well as graffiti as an antisocial subculture that affects its acceptance as a form of art. While graffiti might be discussed as art or crime, it is much more than both and is an indicator of important groups and subcultures that operate amongst us on a daily and ever-increasing basis. Suggestions are made for ways that graffiti might be promoted legally with assistance from peer mentors who discourage illegal graffiti and encourage prosocial forms of training in the arts.
... Furthermore, murals themselves are believed to act as graffiti deterrents. Wallace and Whitehead (as cited in Craw et al., 2006) note that murals accumulate less graffiti because the graffiti writing is harder to see on a mural (p. 427), and because graffiti writers are more likely to respect the artwork of other artists (Callinan, 2002, p. 13). ...
... In turn, not only do the murals display a sense of community spirit and cohesion that transform a crime friendly environment into one that shows that someone cares about it, but they also help discourage graffiti itself (Craw et al., 2006, p. 432). Graffiti offenders often appear to respect the work of other mural artists which functions to reduce incentives to vandalize (Weisel, 2002, p. 33) Craw et al. (2006) studied this phenomenon. They investigated whether the use of a mural could significantly reduce new graffiti attacks in an area already prone to graffiti. ...
... The experiment involved painting over graffiti with a base colour, then with a mural design (Craw et al., 2006, p. 428). Craw et al. (2006) also note that the additional involvement of community groups in such a mural process further adds to the preventative effect against graffiti returning upon completion of the mural project (p. 427). ...
... Intersecting Cohen's six types of vandalism is a further list of five motivations for vandalism and graffiti, which include: (1) gaining or sustaining membership within a 'deviant' group through anti-social acts that reinforce group membership, (2) self-esteem, (3) self-expression, (4) to disrupt the order of authority, and (5) enjoyment and the rush associated with the illegality of the behaviour (Callinan, 2002;Craw et al., 2006;Bandaranaike, 2001). ...
... In addition, they have fewer resources than the council so will eventually give up. However, they may also simply move to a different area (Craw et al., 2006). Thus, rapid removal may be effective in one area, but has the potential to simply displace or change the expression of the vandalism or graffiti. ...
... Some positive outcomes for those invited to paint the mural include recognition of talent, increased self-esteem and a sense of ownership of and investment in that area (Halsey and Young, 2002). The effectiveness of legal graffiti murals has been attributed to the rules of respect that characterise tagging cultures whereby taggers are unlikely to tag or cover someone else's work (Craw et al., 2006;Callinan, 2002). However, in a few cases, the mural has been found not to be respected and has been quickly tagged over (ERC, 2003). ...
... Graffiti, the unauthorized written, scratched, marked, sprayed, or affixed defacement of public/private property, is considered by some to be a social crime, an act of youthful vandalism, which needs to be erased from urbanity because of the feelings of disgust/fear it engenders in the general populace (Cohen, 1973;Craw et al., 2006;Grant, 1996;Halsey and Young, 2006;Lachmann, 1988). However, in recent years a move has taken place to distance illegal graffiti from its legally sanctioned counterpart, urban art (e.g., murals, permission structures) through creating a conceptual distinction between 'graffiti as crime' and 'graffiti as cultural expression' (Alvi, et al., 2001;King and Setter, 2003). ...
... This distinction is also apparent in the terminology used to differentiate between graffitists' illegal and legal art-forms. For instance, illegal art (aka 'nuisance art') is denigrated as being visual pollution that causes property defacement/damage/destruction; and urban art as being a creative vibrant art-form, that transforms otherwise sterile urban spaces into contemporary public places (Craw et al., 2006;King and Setter, 2003;Garner et al., 2006). Paradoxically, this dichotomy has led to a polarization of views on how authorities should deal with graffitists. ...
... One of the limitations of the Craw et al. (2006) study was that it covered a restricted monitoring area. For instance, the opposing wall in the alley-way was not monitored even though "considerable graffiti was put on the opposite wall of the alley during the entire experiment" leading the research team to conclude "that the mural was shifting the focus of the writers' attention barely meters away" (2006: 432). ...
... Graffiti is an issue that costs local and state governments in New Zealand and internationally (Ferrell, 1995;Halsey and Young, 2002;Ministry of Justice, 2006 News, 2008). Rapid removal of graffiti can lead to the illusion that the problem has abated, as the general public do not see evidence of offensive tags or graffiti (Craw, Leland et al., 2006). ...
... Despite these efforts, as targeted sites are cleaned up by councils, they are often quickly retargeted (Craw, Leland et al., 2006). ...
... In contrast, local government sees the damage caused by graffiti and the high cost of cleaning it up (Ferrell, 1995;Halsey and Young, 2002;Halsey and Young, 2006). Several authors see the need to examine the reasons why young people involve themselves in this illicit activity (White, 2001;Halsey and Young, 2002;Craw, Leland et al., 2006;Halsey and Young, 2006). Halsey and Young (2006) interviewed graffiti writers to ascertain their motivations for immersion in the culture. ...
... For criminologists who have studied graffiti, its definition is dependent on the practice being illegal (Weisel, 2002;White, 2001). However, other scholars have long recognised that some graffiti is authorised, commissioned or painted with permission (Anderson & Verplanck, 1983;Craw et al., 2006;Kramer, 2010). ...
... Maboneng's creative visual inscriptions have occurred in conjunction with various place branding elements implemented by Propertuity, including several public art installations, pavement upgrades and new street trees. Although large murals can be used to deter graffiti (Craw et al., 2006), this is not the case in Maboneng as most of the murals are at heights that are not easily accessible or are located on walls that were not previously heavily inscribed. In addition, graffiti is not actively erased by either Propertuity or the New Doornfontein CID, the collective authorities who manage the precinct. ...
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Graffiti has flourished in the post-apartheid period in Johannesburg, South Africa, in a context where investment in the inner city carries large risks and the city struggles to support arts and culture. In the Maboneng precinct, graffiti and street art have become prolific alongside the recent redevelopment of the neighbourhood. Embracing the global creative city discourse, property developers in Maboneng have co-opted public art, street art and graffiti to brand space and make place, echoing instances of artwashing in other cities around the world. However, Maboneng’s first street art festival was initiated by artists among several other artist-led creative activities. Using mapping and photography, we combine visual and spatial analyses to show the variety and concentration of creative visual inscriptions in Maboneng. Our analysis demonstrates how artists have responded to the opportunities for increased visibility generated through the process of redevelopment. Mapping graffiti and street art reveals a hybrid space that combines both sanctioned and unsanctioned visual inscriptions and shows how urban redevelopment can enable a platform and audience for creative endeavours. Our research shows we need a more nuanced understanding of the potential impacts of implementing the creative city discourse in cities such as Johannesburg in the global South.
... Our results offer empirical evidence for one possible way of making those types of spaces more welcoming for creating identity connections and possible multifunctionality. Finally, previous research showed that the addition of street art/graffiti forms can prevent the decay of the public space (Craw et al., 2006), which brings additional support for using street art and graffiti as a means of transforming public spaces from not-noticeable or negative to more comfortable, appealing, playful, interesting, and safe. ...
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Art plays a prominent role in shaping urban aesthetic value, image, and identity of public spaces. This paper aimed to examine the role of street art and graffiti in shaping impressions of the space using a correlational and experimental design in an online study with 874 participants (69% female, aged 15 to 66 years). The participants rated their impression of the space on an 8-item scale for a series of photographs of street art/graffiti and public space combinations. The results showed that street art/graffiti changed the impression of the space from rather neutral to more comfortable, appealing, playful, interesting, and safe. While the tag mostly had no significant effects, style writing and the mural had strong and positive effects. Implications of the study's results provide input for the rehabilitation and design of public spaces.
... Along with the advance of technology, mural making can also be developed not only by using paint but also by using printed wallpaper.Today, the presence of mural could also have side-effect. In physical context, several studies have proven that placement of mural art in the wall will decrease vandalism such as graffiti attack [4][6] [7]. In non-physical context, its presence could be used as space revitalization tool -mural that is presented in aneglected space could re-activate the places and its community [4]. ...
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The lack of public space is one of the main problems in the big cities in Indonesia. Urban kampungas part of the city is also no exception. Rapid growth on population sparks uncontrollable physical development that erode open space inside urbankampung. Sometimes, what is left is just neglected space which don‟t "live‟ and far from the definition of public space. Mural art has been existed since the beginning of human civilization. Now, it has evolved into one of the popular urban art. The previous research has proven that the process of urban art making through participatory approach could trigger community interaction in a space. Interaction itself is a main factor that may trigger the establishmentof a public space. With the same method, this research attempts to build mural in a neglected space inside urbankampung named Palsigunung. After all of the process done, the space still haven‟t changed from the previous condition, which is still a neglected space. Together with facilitator, kampung‟s residents need to be involved identifying the problem and also the solution to the lack of public space in their kampung. Particularly for urban kampungPalsigunung, the needed solution might not be mural.
... Por outro, essa teoria parece estar a ser reequacionada a partir de algumas experiências. Num estudo levado a cabo na Nova Zelândia, numa cidade de cerca de 120.000 habitantes, Craw et al (2006) escolheram uma parede grande e muito grafi tada, dividindo-a em três secções. A primeira, junto à rua foi pintada com a cor original, a segunda secção foi pintada com um mural de graffi ti e a terceira foi também pintada de uma só cor. ...
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Pretende-se refletir sobre as representações que diferentes peças de graffiti localizadas na cidade do Porto, Portugal, têm para os urbanitas alheios à cultura do grafffiti. Tendo sido o graffiti abordado dos mais variados pontos de vista disciplinares e frequentemente focalizando as práticas e as vivências dos seus protagonistas, considera-se que é necessário pensar sobre o modo como os outros, os que desconhecem os códigos estilísticos e simbólicos de produção do graffiti, pensam e perspetivam o graffiti no espaço urbano e como pensam a cidade através dele. Utilizou-se a técnica da photovoice para recolher testemunhos de pessoas pertencentes a uma faixa etária abrangente, descortinando-se uma pluralidade de visões sobre as imagens em jogo.
... Many graffiti writers and gang members from the very communities that valued wall writing as a form of territorial demarcation and identity expression viewed the new murals as little more than a new type of graffiti deterrence and a manifestation of top-down aesthetic development used to silence them (Craw et al., 2006;personal interviews, 2006-10). This reading of the role played by such murals may have actually contributed to the increase in the amount of graffiti produced on their surfaces over time (Schrank, 2009: 159). ...
... Archival artists seek to make historical information, often lost or displaced physically present. (Foster, 2006: 143)Illicit graffiti is largely perceived as blight on the built environment (Craw et al., 2006;Hung et al., 2010). Henceforth, the Sydney Graffiti Archive is more than simply a way of sharing the body of imagery analysed in this research. ...
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Centred on the theorization, design and implications of the Sydney Graffiti Archive, this article considers how the virtual image archive intervenes in the experience of graffiti to shift negative perceptions about graffiti as damage to cultural heritage. As a parallel discursive arena (see Fraser, 1995; Hauser, 1998), the Sydney Graffiti Archive infiltrates and transgresses normative conceptions of place and cultural narratives through the formation and circulation of unofficial visual discourses embedded in graffiti photographs. This article evaluates the place of the archive as a heuristic device and heterotopic entity and encourages new ways of seeing illicit graffiti, and other everyday digital cultures of commemoration, in that it reshapes present relations to the past through photographic reframing, image digitization, interface design and user engagement. Essentially, this research is about hacking into, recovering and honouring graffiti’s discursive sites to reimagine graffiti’s place as digital heritage.
... Public art of this kind can also contribute to the revitalisation of an urban area and assisting in the stimulation of local economies and local economic regeneration and revitalisation through tourism and increased local investment (Becker, 2004;Grodach, 2009;Remesar, 2005). Public art can also help to manage public space and improve the existing urban visual landscape (Remesar, 2005, p. 7-8); murals for instance can reduce the proportional amount on new unsanctioned 'graffiti' (Craw et al, 2006). This process is not uncontested and shows the ways that public art can also establish unintended exclusionary boundaries (O'Callaghan and Linehan, 2007, p. 313) by defining who and what kinds of artistic expression do and do not belong in a given urban space (Schacter, 2008). ...
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Urban space has the potential to shape people's experience and understanding of the city and of the culture of a place. In some respects, murals and allied forms of wall art occupy the intersection of street art and public art; engaging, and sometimes, transforming the urban space in which they exist and those who use it. While murals are often conceived as a more ‘permanent’ form of painted art there has been a trend in recent years towards more deliberately transient forms of wall art such as washed-wall murals and reverse graffiti. These varying forms of public wall art are embedded within the fabric of the urban space and history. This paper will explore the intersection of public space, public art and public memory in a mural project in the Irish city of Cork. Focussing on the washed-wall murals of Cork's historic Shandon district, we explore the sympathetic and synergetic relationship of this wall art with the heritage architecture of the built environment and of the murals as an expression of and for the local community, past and present. Through the Shandon Big Wash Up murals we reflect on the function of participatory public art as an explicit act of urban citizenship which works to support community-led re-enchantment in the city through a reconnection with its past.
... Many studies suggest that murals have proven to be effective in deterring future graffiti attacks, particularly the more common 'tagging' type graffiti. (Craw et al, 2006;Knox City Council, 2002). The government has also recognised the significance of murals for creating more positive attitudes in poor communities and has become more supportive by creating grants to be used by artists who work with people on legal murals (Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council). ...
... Cox, Cox & Cox, 2005;Johnston, Hendricks & Fike, 1994), to reduce littering (e.g. Baltes & Hayward, 1976;Hansmann & Scholz, 2003;Reiter & Samuel, 1980) and to minimize the number of graffiti attacks (Craw, Leland, Bussell, Munday & Walsh, 2006). In his meta-analysis, De Young (1993) concluded that a prompt can be an effective memory aid. ...
... Though most murals have been untouched by taggers and show mural-making to be an effective strategy to combat graffiti (see Craw, Leland, Bussell, Munday, & Walsh, 2006), there have been notable exceptions that reflect the tensions between cultural representations and the political climate. For example, the mural of former Philadelphia mayor Frank Rizzo was defaced with the word ''FACIST,'' reflecting ethnic tensions during his term. ...
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... Cox, Cox & Cox, 2005), to reduce littering (e.g. Hansmann & Scholz, 2003) and to minimize the number of graffiti attacks (Craw, et al., 2006). Public commitment is a promise to execute the behavior, which is given to the community. ...
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Graffiti removal is a prolific and costly problem for Australian municipal authorities. In Western Australia, new incidents of graffiti are reported through the state government's dedicated graffiti hotline. The aim being to have all highly offensive graffiti removed within a 24-hour time frame and all other graffiti within 48 hours. The flaw in the system is that individuals reporting graffiti incidents have diverse understandings as to what forms of graffiti constitute the state government's highly offensive classification. This confusion has led to removal contractors being sent to remove non-highly offensive graffiti ahead of highly offensive graffiti. To address this problem, this article reports on the development and validation of a graffiti classification system. This system provides authorities with a typological tool for prioritizing the removal of graffiti.
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That women have a greater fear of crime than men has often been termed irrational or paradoxical, but this article joins those who argue that the gendered nature of fear is well grounded. The authors investigate the extent to which various factors—including prior victimization, perceptions of neighborhood disorder, routine activities, and neighborhood satisfaction—predict women's perceptions of personal safety. Survey and semistructured interview data were collected from 219 women living in six urban public housing estates in eastern Ontario. Both disorder and neighborhood satisfaction have a moderately strong impact on perceptions of insecurity, whereas prior victimization is a negligible factor. One conclusion is that improving services (e.g., removing garbage, graffiti, vandalized items) may reduce fear as much as reducing crime.
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Recently, a new style of youthful graffiti has emerged in cities throughout the United States and beyond. Based on 4 years of fieldwork inside the Denver, Colorado graffiti underground, and on field and document research in other U.S. and European cities, this article explores the many ways in which those who produce this graffiti resist the increasing segregation and control of urban environments and shows how participants in the graffiti underground undermine the efforts of legal and political authorities to control them. Finally, it documents the ways in which this collective production of graffiti not only confronts and resists existing arrangements but constructs alternative social, cultural, and economic arrangements as well.
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This paper proposes that individuals who report that they live in neighborhoods characterized by disorder--by crime, vandalism, graffiti, danger, noise, dirt, and drugs--have high levels of fear and mistrust. It further proposes that an individual's alliances and connections with neighbors can buffer the negative effects of living in a neighborhood characterized by disorder on fear and mistrust. Results from a representative sample of 2482 Illinois residents collected by telephone in 1995 support the propositions. Living in a neighborhood with a lot of perceived disorder significantly affects mistrust and the fear of victimization, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Perceived neighborhood disorder and social ties significantly interact: informal social ties with neighbors reduce the fear- and mistrust-producing effects of disorder. However, formal participation in neighborhood organizations shows little buffering effect.
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This paper proposes that individuals who report that they live in neighborhoods characterized by disorder—by crime, vandalism, graffiti, danger, noise, dirt, and drugs—have high levels of fear and mistrust. It further proposes that an individual's alliances and connections with neighbors can buffer the negative effects of living in a neighborhood characterized by disorder on fear and mistrust. Results from a representative sample of 2482 Illinois residents collected by telephone in 1995 support the propositions. Living in a neighborhood with a lot of perceived disorder significantly affects mistrust and the fear of victimization, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Perceived neighborhood disorder and social ties significantly interact: informal social ties with neighbors reduce the fear‐ and mistrust‐producing effects of disorder. However, formal participation in neighborhood organizations shows little buffering effect.
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Why Study Vandalism? Definitions and Demographics. Causation. Intervention: Alternative Strategies. Intervention: Implementation Tactics. Intervention: Combinations and Evaluation. Ecovandalism and Psychological Inquiry. Index.
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Highway structures are public works facilities that are inherently accessible, to a certain degree, to the general public at all hours of the clay and every day of the year. As a result, some highway structures are susceptible to graffiti. Graffiti on highway structures is a significant problem throughout the United States. Not only is graffiti an eyesore to the traveling public, it presents a hazard to the perpetrator and a liability exposure for transportation agencies because highway structures span high elevations and are in close proximity to motor vehicle traffic. The most common methods for combating graffiti include washing the surface of the structure with high-pressure water sprays, repainting the surface, and sandblasting. Although each of these methods can, in most cases, effectively remove the graffiti, the solution is often temporary; more graffiti is likely to appear in the future at the same site. Further, these measures can be quite costly, especially if they have to be repeated on numerous occasions to remove recurring graffiti. Results of a comprehensive survey of transportation agencies are presented and analyzed. The survey was designed to assess the nature and extent of the graffiti problem as well as to identify some solutions to the problem and identify various preventive as well as removal techniques. The study focuses on current graffiti prevention and removal policies and various other graffiti-removal techniques that are undertaken by different state departments of transportation to mitigate graffiti problems in their states.
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The purpose was to trace the course of this behavior to its origin in early childhood, for just as wall writing served our prehistoric ancestors, so it served the instincts during a prehistoric epoch in the development of all of us - that often forgotten early period of infantile sexual life. The meaning of wall writing cannot be gleaned solely from the messages themselves, for like dreams, jokes, and slips of the tongue, graffiti do not easily betray their meaning. The authors compared graffiti to jokes, where a hostile or sexual instinct finds disguised expression and relief. He tried to show that aggressive destructive and incorporative wishes are similarly satisfied by the wall writer at the expense of the wall's owner.