HAUGHVILLE — Haughville residents tell WRTV they're tired of seeing graffiti in their neighborhood. Some residents have been re-tagged.
They're also pushing for public safety cameras to be installed in their neighborhood in hopes of putting an end to the vandalism.
"It's like an epidemic. It's everywhere," said resident Michael Hamilton.
Michael Hamilton said the streets of Haughville are covered with graffiti.
Two weeks ago, the vandalism on businesses, churches and homes was painted over by volunteers and Metro Police.
It was an effort to clean up the eyesores. Many remain untouched, but that's not the case for other homes and businesses.
"[The taggers] see that we're taking effort to clean our place and then they come right behind us and then just destroy it again, and that's really upsetting," said Hamilton.
Despite their own and the city's efforts to clean up, residents say that the graffiti keeps coming back.
"I am tired. I'm tired of them coming here and painting my building," said resident Donald Walton.
Donald Walton has already repainted his property three times.
"I want to paint it burgundy because my wife. She died. She loved burgundy, and I hope and pray that they don't come back," said Walton.
"It's very frustrating since I have a new garage. It's bad enough they did it the first time and I had to paint that, but the second time was just a smack in the face," added resident Marla Wilhite.
"It looks like it's gang-related because they have different designs about it. It's very deeply concerning because when it takes place is at various times, and we have kids in the neighborhood, and we don't know how that's gonna affect the kids and the families," said Bishop Peter Fenton, First Samuel Holistic Ministries.
Residents believe more cameras placed throughout Haughville will help deter the vandals.
"Especially on all the corners, because I believe that we have enough resources in this city that we could put cameras on corners and catch them," Bishop Fenton said. "Then figure out a way not to belittle anybody but see how we can rescue them out of their behavior,"
IMPD urges the community to report the graffiti through Crimer Stoppers. The department also recommends investing in doorbell cameras, exterior lighting or high-resolution security cameras.
There are special paints and coatings homeowners can buy that protect homes from graffiti by making it easier to clean off if someone tags your house.
In Indianapolis, you can file a non-emergency police report for cases of vandalism like graffiti. You can do that online by going to the city's website.
