By Tim Persyn
A rash of graffiti, including "tagging," has recently struck locations around Saratoga.
"Taggers" use initials associated with themselves to identify who committed the acts of graffiti.
Foothill School, Saratoga High School, and Congress Springs Park have all been hit in the last two or three weeks, said Deputy Ted Atlas of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department.
He said deputies do not have any leads on who the culprits are, but they think that whoever is committing the acts is local.
"Congress Springs and Foothill aren't easy locations to find," explained Atlas.
The marks used by the taggers have included "KRFW" and "OSF."
Atlas said that investigations into "tagging" incidents involve putting out the word to the community and to the staff at schools to look for evidence that someone is involved in the acts.
"Often 'taggers' have their tags written on backpacks, shoes, and notebooks," Atlas said. "They sit in class and practice it. We try to get teachers and administrators aware."
Atlas characterized the frequency of graffiti acts in Saratoga as "streaky."
"We'll get a bunch and then we'll go for awhile without any," he said. "It happens at schools more than anything else."
He said the city experiences outbreaks of graffiti about two or three times a year.
The cost of graffiti cleanups at schools can be significant. Paul Tipton, maintenance operations director for the Saratoga Union School District, said that two years ago, a rash of taggings cost the district $1,000 to clean up. He said the recent incidents at Foothill were minimal and involved a few profane words.
If a residential location is victimized by graffiti, the property owner must pick up the bill, said Paul Curtis, director of community development for Saratoga. However, he said the the city tries to cooperate with the property owners in getting the graffiti cleaned up.
"No one likes this except the person putting it up," said Curtis.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, April 24, 1996.
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