Lexi B., you are not actually saying that it's the fault of the business owners who are victims of repeated grafitti attacks? Do you think it's fair to expect people who are struggling to operate a business in Oakland to have to carry the burden of paying to remedy recurring problems not of their making?

What if your home or business was the one defaced, would you feel the same way?

Although it would be nice if the city would do its job and have a graffiti enforcement policy that had teeth and actually caught and prosecuted people, the sad reality is that it does not.
It is a fact that businesses that promptly clean up their graffiti get tagged at a lesser frequency than those that just let it linger.
I do feel for the business owner, and it sucks, but that is the price of business in a city that does not take care of its business.
I usually take my business to a business that that takes care of their business by keeping their store clean of graffiti and trash.
That's the business.

Yes, I'm absolutely suggesting that leaving graffiti and tags up encourages the taggers to tag more and that building owners need to paint over graffiti as soon as they're made aware of it. Places that get tagged and cover it up immediately and completely don't seem to get hit again and again and AGAIN the way places that don't clean up promptly do. It doesn't even seem to matter how tidy a job they do covering it up, the important thing seems to be sending the message "your tags will not remain visible if you tag them here, so don't bother".

When the building I work in gets tagged, building management has somebody out cleaning it up within 12 hours. They consider it a high enough priority to take care of it promptly.

City of Oakland Public Works Department referred this issue to CODE ENFORCEMENT, service request # 540955.Please contact that department to follow-up, see “Other Helpful Links” at:
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/PWA/Connect/ReportaProblem/index.htm#Links.

Here are some important City of Oakland contact points:

Abandoned Autos: (510) 777-8622 (abandoned vehicles on the public street after 3 days)

Animal Control (510) 535-5602 (live animals); (510) 535-4888 (dead animals)

Code Enforcement: (510) 238-3381 (blighted private properties, deteriorated buildings, inoperable vehicles on private property)

Drug Hotline: (510) 238-3784 (tips); (510) 777-3211 (in progress)

Parking Citations (800) 500-6484 (parking citation assistance center, pay or appeal a citation); (510) 238-3099 (enforcement)

Prostitution Hotline: (510) 238-2373 (tips); (510) 777-3211 (in progress)

Thank you.