Letter: Residents’ apathy only encourages rampant graffiti

Thursday, July 7, 2005 | 8:49 a.m.

I've been visiting Las Vegas several times a year since the 1950s and always enjoy my time in your city. But lately I've been seeing something that's becoming more disappointing each time I visit -- all the graffiti that now adorns your walls, overpasses and other public structures. I wonder what impressions first-time tourists are getting of Las Vegas. My family and I hate to see the deterioration that is now occurring because of the graffiti vandals.

What really frustrated me on our last visit was the reaction I got from speaking to some law enforcement officials that I encountered. Their attitude was that, "Nobody cares, and it's impossible to catch the taggers." This is not true. I have been involved with law enforcement for many years and we have almost eliminated graffiti in our area by getting everyone involved.

A "nobody cares and nothing can be done" attitude leads the taggers to accelerate their efforts to deteriorate the appearance of the city.

ARTHUR C. WEISS Northridge, Calif.

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