Cops Will Now Carry Their Own Spray Paint To Combat Graffiti

Rebecca Fishbein

Published May 17, 2014

Modified May 17, 2014

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(Courtesy street stars' flickr

Rebecca Fishbein

Published May 17, 2014

Modified May 17, 2014

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Even in #DeBlasiosNewYork, the NYPD is vigilantly looking for new ways to combat graffiti, it seems. A "nationwide epidemic costing billions of dollars each year," according to literature from back the Bloombergian Era, the city's been funneling resources into anti-graffiti initiatives for years, and now it appears they're taking the battle to the streets by giving cops spray paint cans to do some pretty tag-defacing artwork of their own.

The Post reports that a new NYPD directive has cops toting spray cans with them, finding small street tags and covering them with black, red and white spray paint. Big murals will reportedly be spared. "It’s supposed to discredit their work...and break their manhood,” one cop told the tabloid, referring to taggers leaving their marks on buildings and storefronts.

Unsurprisingly, a number of cops seem less than thrilled at the prospect of having to spend time hunting down graffiti, particularly in crime-ridden areas like Bushwick, Brownsville and Bed-Stuy. "Some of these neighborhoods are really dangerous. There should be more of a focus on serious crime" one source said, with others noting a spike in shootings citywide.

Plus, you never know when you're blacking out the handiwork of one of your former co-workers, after all.

Tagged

brooklyn

crime

graffiti

nypd

street art