Graffiti is a big problem in the City of Reno, and the Reno Police Department takes it very seriously. Recently the Reno PD reinstated the Graffiti Detective position in the Regional Gang Unit (RGU) with the main priority to minimize graffiti to help cleanup Reno. The new Detective has already made great progress in minimizing graffiti after he recently arrested several taggers who have been tagging many areas in Reno including the MidTown District.
In April of 2014, RGU Detective Javier Lopez began investigating more than 18 known taggers who have tagged numerous areas in the Reno, Sparks and Washoe county area. In one case, Detective Lopez was recently investigating; a suspect who had been tagging since 2012 had over 351 graffiti tags in the area, including Midtown. Thanks to his dedication to serving the community, Detective Lopez was able to positively identify the suspect, and interview him. The 19 year old suspect admitted to having tagged 74 different locations in Reno over the past year which inevitably cost the City of Reno over $11,000 to remove the graffiti. Arrested in November for 1 felony count of Graffiti was Reno resident Rodrigo De La Cruz Campos (07/03/95).
Detective Lopez’ position is very important to the City of Reno, as it costs the city $122.07 an hour in graffiti abatement for materials, Detective hours, and workers. By identifying, arresting and prosecuting taggers Detective Lopez has already helped clean up the MidTown District and saved the City of Reno money on graffiti cleanup.
SOURCE: RPD.
