Vandalism, graffiti continues to be Edmonton's yearly $2-million problem

Keeping up with vandalism costs Edmonton at least $2 million per year — and the problem is showing little signs of going away.

“These are what I would call the downstream effects of some of the social disorder that we have seen on the streets,” said Ward sipiwiyiniwak coun. Thu Parmar during a Dec. 3 council meeting when councillors voted 9-4 to keep a proposed $2,061,000 line item to fund efforts to prevent vandalism and graffiti. “It’s just another one of the things that is downstream.”

City officials told council vandalism of both private and public property has spiked in recent years following the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2024 alone, the city responded to 2,474 graffiti complaints. Vandalism has become so widespread it was identified as a structural budget variance to be resolved in the city’s 2025 operating budget. According to a report presented to council during budget talks, the city responds to an average of 35,000 work orders each year, including damaged property calls. To curb some of the more problematic areas, the city hardened the doors of transit facilities to keep potential saboteurs out and hired more peace officers in problem areas.

A spokesperson for Edmonton Police Service told Postmedia most vandalism cases, including graffiti, are investigated as mischief or damage to property, either under or over $5,000, though if the incident involves hate speech or is clearly targeting a group, it is then investigated as a hate crime.

“Since 2022, a number of steps have been taken to improve EPS’s response to graffiti in the community, including the development of additional training for officers, standardizing investigations, more detailed intelligence gathering, and streamlined communications both internally and with external partners, including the City of Edmonton,” said EPS communications advisor Cheryl Voordenhout.

“Since 2022, police have made several significant graffiti arrests, accounting for hundreds of graffiti tags totaling tens of thousands of dollars of damage in the community. Police continue to pursue criminal charges for graffiti vandals, including repeat offenders believed to be causing significant damage.”

While the Municipal Governance Act limits how much the city can fine vandals, the city’s Community Standards Bylaw authorizes the city to ticket someone caught in the act with a $250 fine. Most of the graffiti tags in Edmonton are from individuals, while gang activity accounts for less than three per cent of graffiti, according to EPS.

Officials aim to remove graffiti within 30 days of when it’s reported, though it’s very difficult to remove when the temperature drops below -10 C, explained a spokesperson for the city. Hateful and/or derogatory graffiti takes priority.

“Graffiti is identified through continual inspections, observations and assessments by city crews in addition to anyone reporting through 311,” said communications advisor Alison MacKinnon. “Once reported, it is then determined whether the graffiti is located on public or private property. For public areas, the issue is routed to the work area where it is logged, assessed and prioritized. In the summer months, when graffiti is more prevalent, there are dedicated response crews.

“We believe everyone should be able to access and benefit from city recreational and cultural sites, services and resources in a safe, enjoyable and respectful manner. We have our Respect for People and Property guidelines in place at our facilities. If these guidelines are not followed, bans and/or restricted access to sites, services and communication with employees may be implemented.”

She added the city’s Capital City Clean Up team will provide up to $750 worth of services for private property owners who are victimized by graffiti, with a goal of providing the service within 7 to 10 days. Property owners who fail to report graffiti and/or don’t remove it can be fined up to $250.

ebowling@postmedia.com

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