Graffiti removal kicks into high gear for summer

Some call it art, others call it a nuisance. But if it’s on a building without the owner’s permission, it’s graffiti. And the job of removing it falls to the anti-graffiti workers with the El Paso Department of Transportation.

The handful of trucks around town take on about 350 site cleanups a week, spiking up to 500 a week during the summer with kids out of school. The trucks respond to calls from building owners and patrol areas of town looking for the latest tags.

It’s a free service for anyone in the city of El Paso, residential or commercial. The crews work with police, code enforcement, ordinances and the public to make sure what they’re removing isn’t wanted.

“We’re a maintenance program,” said Fred Pacheco, graffiti coordinator with EPDoT. “We can actually be called by 311 call center, they’ll make a report, it goes into our database as a service request. It actually goes into the crews hands because we actually have iPad’s now, we actually get that data that same day.”

And it costs nearly a $1 million a year for the city to remove graffiti and prosecute offenders.

“A lot of it is very fine art,” Pacheco said. “You’re going to start seeing where it’s some very fine art. Again, it’s to the eyes of the beholder.”

Pacheco has seen a lot of graffiti over his 18 years doing removal. His crews handle a lot every year and they’re gearing up for the summertime increase.

“Right now is the time where we’re going to be seeing a lot of it,” Pacheco said. “Especially with the cool nights.”

Graffiti removal crews wear full face masks while doing the work. It’s both to protect themselves from the paint or materials flying back on them and to make sure they can’t be recognized doing the work – not everyone’s always happy that the graffiti is being removed.

“There have been several incidents where things have been thrown at us,” Pacheco said. “And (we’ve been) approached. We have to calm them down. This is when we get police involved if we have to… but in turn too, it’s where they don’t want to be recognized and be hurt on the street.”

Even with the possible danger and constant work, the job has its rewards

“It is a very adventurous job,” Pacheco said. “Get to meet a lot of people, a lot of happy people. Very nice. City of El Paso – I like to keep it clean.”

They’ve got their work cut out for them. There’s always another job on their list.

If you need graffiti removed from your property you can call 311 to make a request or learn more on the link on the anti-graffiti website.