If you want to keep it clean in your neighbourhood parks and schools, the city of Port Coquitlam and School District 43 want to hear from you.
PoCo and the district are urging residents to sign up for Vandal Watch, an anonymous 24/7 tip line used to report vandalism and rowdy behaviour.
"The program simply enables residents — particularly those who live near or frequent areas commonly targeted by vandals — to safely and anonymously take action if they see or anticipate an act of vandalism," said Todd Gross, the city's manager of parks and services.
He told The Tri-City News that the program, which was launched locally in 2002, has helped prevent vandalism.
"We can say the program has been significant in the reduction of vandalism, graffiti and maintenance costs to both the park and school systems," he said. "The intent of the program from its inception was for it to be, at a minimum, cost neutral."
Gross said the city does not have specific numbers for vandalism costs but SD43 has had its share of vandalism in 2015 and 2016.
According to the district vandalism report from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, vandalism, including graffiti, cost $42,399.66. It has also had significant costs for broken windows; according to the same report, 265 windows were smashed, with a total replacement cost of $46,137.93.
Some of the schools hardest hit by vandalism were Birchland elementary, Harbour View elementary, Minnekhada middle school, Centennial secondary and Riverside secondary — all schools accumulated costs of at least $1,000, with some as high as $3,000.
To compare, in the district glass replacement report from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015, 110 windows were broken just from elementary schools alone.
"[SD43] has been involved in the Vandal Watch program for several years," Peter Chevrier, SD43's manager of community relations told The Tri-City News in an email. "We are pleased to partner with the city of Port Coquitlam on this campaign to increase awareness to the program in PoCo to help reduce vandalism at many locations including SD43 schools."
For Vandal Watch members, there is no obligation to monitor, patrol or confront vandals, and there is no cost to participate. For more information or to sign up, email [email protected].
