Mayor Adrian Fenty has announced plans to begin removing graffiti from private property without first getting approval from owners. The move comes after a recent increase in graffiti vandalism across the city, and a subsequent effort to clean up tags more quickly.

Owners of buildings with new graffiti would first be asked to give consent to remove it, with notices left giving them information on how to to pick up graffiti-removal kits or paint vouchers from DPW to get rid of the markings themselves. The kit includes a paint roller, a paint pan and solvent that is applied to graffiti on the sides of buildings before it is sprayed with a high-pressure hose. Owners can also request that DPW remove graffiti for them. Ignoring the notice could result in legal action, including paying 2 1/2 times the cost of the graffiti removal plus $500 for each violation notice.

The legislation would also increase the reward for information that leads to the conviction of a tagger, raising it from $50 to $500. Penalties for tagging range from $250 to $5,000 in fines and can carry a jail term of up to one year.

Photo by the horrible symbolism.