Graffiti complaints in Edmonton more than double in early 2023

Graffiti is a perennial problem in any city but complaints in Edmonton more than doubled in the first part of 2023 compared to the same time last year.

The city says it received 81 complaints in January this year, up from 34 the same month in 2022 — a 138 per cent increase. 

In February this year, the city got 143 complaints compared to 56 in the same month in 2022 — a 155 per cent hike.

Waitin Ng, a massage therapist and managing director at Elements Wholistic Centre on 99th Street and 85th Avenue, has dealt with the defacing tags for more than 20 years. 

He said he gets at least one notice each season from the city, requiring him to remove the graffiti. 

Ng said as soon as he scrubs off or paints over a tag to meet the deadline of the city's compliance order, more graffiti appears. 

"It's a constant battle," he said. "If people were just wanting to be expressive, I thought there would be other ways." 

Under the city's Community Standards bylaw, property owners can get a $250 fine if they don't comply.

Ng said he has never been fined. 

Bylaw can issue a non-compliance order under the Municipal Government Act, giving the property owner three weeks notice before the officer can give out a ticket. 

Chrystal Coleman, a spokesperson for the city, said from March 2022 to March 2023, municipal enforcement officers gave out 31 tickets for all graffiti incidents and two $1,000 fines to taggers. 

If graffiti contains hateful language, the city works with police to investigate, Coleman said. 

From January to March this year, 29 out of 147 applications the city received for its graffiti removal program were for hateful messages on private property, Coleman said.

Ng said he noticed an increase in tags over the past few months.