Graffiti has always been an issue on campus and has escalated over the years, but the University of Wyoming police dept., is finally doing something about it.

The number of reported graffiti works on campus reached an all-time high in 2010, and they are off to a good start this year as well. However, Troy Lane, chief of police of the UWPD, said his officers are taking measures to stop graffiti, and maybe save the department some money in the process.

Graffiti near the classroom building has always been there, usually in the harmless form of sidewalk chalk, which is easily removed. However, Lane said there have been several reports of painted graffiti on campus, usually done with stencils. “It is difficult to catch them in the act of stencil graffiti because it can be done so quickly,” Lane said. “Just put up a stencil, paint it and you are done within several seconds.” Reports of this stencil graffiti on campus is one of the main contributors to the rise in graffiti on campus, but Lane said the stencil graffiti literally stopped after he spoke with two suspects.

Lane said he received two leads on the stencil graffiti issue when he discovered two individuals were downloading stencils from the internet. Lane said he spoke with the two suspects. Although neither admitted to the act, the stencil graffiti came to an end. Lane and his team dramatically decreased the cases of stencil graffiti, but said he is taking more measures to stop graffiti at the scene.

Lane’s plan was to increase the number of foot patrol on campus. “Extend bike patrol and foot patrol,” Lane said. Lane explained that all UW officers are trained to patrol on bikes, and Lane didn’t want to see those skills go to waste, so he bought a bike for every officer, and he did it for two reasons. “First, I wanted to address the graffiti issue. Second, I noticed a huge spike in gas prices,” Lane said.

Lane explained the UWPD is given a support services budget, which they spend on everything from office supplies to fuel for patrol cars. Lane said he noticed too much of the budget was going toward gas, and he wanted to see that come to an end. In an attempt to decrease gas costs, Lane purchased 8 more bikes to add to the 5 bikes already owned by the UWPD, and never looked back.

Lane said between April and May, the department saved $2,300. “If we keep up the trend this summer, we will have saved for the bikes in fuel savings,” Lane said. It looks like the bikes are paying for themselves, but how are they helping reduce the graffiti issue?

“It’s hard to put concrete numbers behind things in law enforcement,” Lane said, but he seems confident the bikes will help solve the issue. He explained the extra patrol officers would help deter people from painting on the walls of the university.

Email: Zachary Laux