62 buildings in Stamford, Connecticut in the greater New York metro area have been defaced by graffiti damage. In three months vandals have caused $150,000 worth of damages by tagging (spray painting) homes, office buildings, and other businesses. The news article did not report video cameras or property monitoring services that watched or recorded the many acts of vandalism.
According to the Stamford Advocate, the police investigated each site. A Stamford assistant police chief said that he was seeing the graffiti tags everywhere in this Connecticut town.
One of the victims of the graffiti damage was a business owner in the area. The entire side of the building was tagged in two separate occasions. Another business that was affected saw seven box trucks, walls, doors, and buildings defaced. The operations assistant estimated that it would cost $25,000 to fix the vandalized trucks. Authorities believe that the graffiti damage was not just one vandal but potentially a ring of criminals in the New York area. If the business used video property monitoring services, they may have been able to identify perpetrators.
A suspect wasn’t caught until a resident called police after witnessing a fence being tagged behind the post office. The resident’s description of the getaway car assisted the authorities in locating the vandal.
Police found the suspect’s car speeding out of an apartment complex. The suspect admitted that he was at the post office when they caught him. Police found a backpack in his car with spray-paint and miscellaneous tools used for graffiti damage. The vandal was charged with 56 counts of first-degree criminal mischief and other conspiracy charges while his accomplice (still a fugitive at the time of the Stamford Advocate article) was charged with 5 counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree criminal mischief, 18 counts of second-degree criminal mischief and 13 counts of conspiracy to commit second-degree criminal mischief.
About three months after his arraignment the same vandal caused graffiti damage on two Stamford railroad bridges. The cost of cleaning up the damage was estimated at $19,000.
These building owners are not clients of Stealth Monitoring. Stealth is a leader in proactive live surveillance with over 9,000 video cameras watched nationwide. Stealth video monitoring can detect and deter crime in Connecticut, New York, and other states in the U. S. for greater security while reducing security guard and other expenses. A Stealth operator could have seen unusual activity such as trespassers and vandals with our property monitoring service, activated an audible warning to deter these vandals, and called the local police.
Please contact us for more information about property monitoring services to secure your property. Visit our web site to see actual videos of criminals being apprehended at office parks and buildings, warehouses, shopping centers, and apartment communities.
