Graffiti crime remains a serious problem in the City of Hobbs. City officials, with input from the Hobbs Police Department and the city’s Parks and Open Spaces Department, are turning to the public to help wipe out graffiti.
According to a statement released by City of Hobbs Director of Communications Meghan Mooney, cleaning up graffiti is a matter of community pride and cleanliness. Hobbs is implementing a “Graffiti Hotline” to help protect property owners from this form of vandalism.
New Graffiti Program and Hotline
575-942-5291
The City of Hobbs has established a Graffiti Program and Hotline for everyone’s convenience. To report graffiti simply call the new Graffiti Hotline at (575) 942-5291 or send an email to graffiti@hobbsnm.org.
According to a City of Hobbs, Monday, February 14 press release (PDF), graffiti “… continues to be a nuisance and struggle for Hobbs property owners.”
Monday’s press release says that the community is experiencing “an overwhelming amount of graffiti crimes” and that graffiti is “not intended to be art….” City officials regard graffiti “as a matter of cleanliness and community pride.”
The City of Hobbs is using social media and press releases to advertise its new Graffiti Hotline. “This hotline will be coordinated through an on-call cell phone,” states the press release.
Staff will be available to receive:
- Phone Calls
- Voice Messages
- Text Messages
- Emails
- GPS Coordinates
Reporting Graffiti
The City of Hobbs has developed the following procedure to address the graffiti issue:
- The public should make graffiti reports via the Hotline: Phone — (575) 942-5291, Email — graffiti@hobbsnm.org.
- A response to the report will be given, noting a timeline within 24 – 48 hours during regular working hours when an employee will respond to the location.
- An employee will arrive on location to attain a signed waiver from the property owner for the City of Hobbs to remove the graffiti. The employee additionally will ask the property owner if he or she would like to report the graffiti as a crime and charge the individual, if found, who committed the crime.
- The City of Hobbs will then remove the graffiti. Charges, if appropriate, will be made.
About the new procedure, City of Hobbs Parks and Open Spaces Director Bryan Wagner states in the press release, “Graffiti continues to be a problem every day in Hobbs and many other cities. Our intent with this new process is to maintain the entire reporting and responding process in one department and provide high quality service to citizens with a shorter response time.”
Graffiti in Hobbs Petty Misdemeanor
Pursuant to the City of Hobbs Municipal Code 9.16.210, Graffiti is a petty misdemeanor in the City of Hobbs. The crime is punishable with a $500 fine, up to 100 hours of community service and the “requirement to provide restitution to the property owner for the cost of damages and restoration.”
Photo by Cottonbro // Pexels
