Vandals Make a Mark on the New City
by Terri Wiebold
The beautiful landscape of more than 560 acres of open space, three local parks, and an excess of 13 miles of nature trails represent a few of the main attractions to the Castle Pines North (CPN) community. Unfortunately, recent incidents of vandalism at local parks and homeowner’s association clubhouses have marked up that portrait of perfection, at least temporarily.
According to Metro District Parks and Open Space Manager Charlie Fagan, the most effective response to graffiti is to remove it immediately. “We have a policy under my watch that my goal is to remove graffiti on District property within 24 hours,” he said. “This behavior is not going to be tolerated and we need to address it as a community!”
Responsibility for graffiti removal varies. A property owner is responsible for graffiti removal on his or her private property, while Douglas County crews are responsible to clean public property such as street signs and along roads. The CPN Metro District is responsible for graffiti removal from all District owned facilities such as parks, etc.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office takes crimes of vandalism very seriously and will actively and aggressively pursue those who choose to target CPN. Residents are urged to report any graffiti immediately to the Sheriff’s Office at 303-660-7500, including public property such as utility boxes or street signs. This is important because the graffiti should not be removed until a deputy has come out and taken a report and pictures. The Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit keeps data on all graffiti crimes to determine if an incident is associated with other criminal activity in the area.
According to CPN II President Shirley Beer-Powell, “We have filed a police report [for the damage in our neighborhood] and all our Board members are being asked to keep a closer eye on our entire pool area. We are also discussing several security measures to prevent this from happening again,” she said. “You can be sure that if the police find the people who are responsible for this or any other damage that is done to our property, we will prosecute to the full extent the law will allow. No one has the right to damage our homeowners’ property like this, and we take this destructive behavior very seriously.”
Residents in CPN have worked hard to keep this community clean and free of vandalism and graffiti. The summer months tend to bring more outdoor activity, and there is generally an increase in crime during these months. If every resident plays a part in watching for – and reporting – suspicious activity in neighborhoods, the beauty of CPN can be maintained and preserved.
