Graffiti in Portland, Oregon

Graffiti in Portland, Oregon, 2010

Graffiti is a cause of disagreement among residents of Portland, Oregon.[1] Residents can report graffiti and request removal.[2] In 2023, a poll conducted by The Oregonian showed 61 percent of Portland voters considered graffiti a "big" problem.[3]

Prevalence

Portland saw a marked rise in graffiti during the COVID-19 pandemic.[4][5] The city has also seen "tagger tourism", or people visiting for the purpose of spray painting illegally.[6] According to KPTV, "Portland's location on the I-5 corridor means that transient taggers often stop off to leave their mark. It’s an underground culture of dedicated wall writers leaving their mark on a city, that’s eager to buff it out."[7]

Removal efforts

The graffiti increase during the pandemic prompted city council to strengthen removal efforts.[8][9]

In 2021, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) hired an outside contractor to remove graffiti along three highways.[10][11] As of 2022, ODOT set aside $2 million was set aside for graffiti and litter clean up.[12][13] In late 2022, the city deployed "preventative graffiti".[2]

ODOT's $2 million in funding ran out in 2023.[14][15] In 2024, the Oregon legislature allocated $4 million for ODOT for addressing graffiti.[16][17] Synthetic ivy has been used on walls in an attempt to deter graffiti.[18]

The city requires building owners to remove graffiti within 10 days or risk a fine.[19] In practice, the code is not being enforced against property owners.[20] In 2024, commissioner Rene Gonzalez proposed "meaningful" penalties for graffiti vandals.[21] His proposal did not receive a vote before he left office.[22]

Police have also arrested major offenders.[23][24] In 2024, police raided the house of a suspected graffiti vandal who was featured on a YouTube series.[25][26] The same man was later arrested.[27] Another man received a 2.5 year prison sentence.[25]

Jacob Abel Ramos who tagged "BIER" and was part of the tagging crew "KYT" which stands for "Kill Your Television". was sentenced to prison for four years in January 2026.[28][29][30][31]

A female graffiti vandal Shelaleh Rostami who is responsible for tagging "THULA, "LADY THUJA" and "LADY T." in numerous places were sentenced to two years in prison in August 2026 on seven criminal mischief charges. Rostami associated with Ramos who tagged "BIER". [32][31][32]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Portland businesses fed up with graffiti, 15 July 2023, archived from the original on 2023-09-09, retrieved 2023-09-09
  2. 1 2 "Portland cleanup team putting up preventative graffiti to ward off vandals". kgw.com. December 17, 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-12-30. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  3. ↑ "61% of Portland voters call graffiti 'big' problem, poll from The Oregonian/OregonLive finds". The Oregonian. 2022-10-23. Archived from the original on 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  4. ↑ "It's Another Record Year for Portland Graffiti". Willamette Week. 2022-09-08. Archived from the original on 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  5. ↑ "City battles graffiti problem in Northeast Portland". kgw.com. November 21, 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-05-17. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  6. ↑ "Cracking down on Portland's 'tagger tourism'". KOIN.com. 2024-11-19. Archived from the original on 2025-01-14. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  7. ↑ Kaplan, Ezra (2024-05-07). "Portland's graffiti problem: A game of cat and mouse". KPTV. Archived from the original on 2025-01-28. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  8. ↑ "City officials share what graffiti looks like in Portland and their plan to combat it". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  9. ↑ Allison, Megan (2022-03-18). "City and state agencies add resources to tackle graffiti around Portland". KATU. Archived from the original on 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  10. ↑ Kavanaugh, Shane Dixon (2021-06-08). "Oregon beefs up graffiti removal along Portland freeways but struggles to eradicate it". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2023-06-02. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  11. ↑ "ODOT hires contractor to help clean graffiti along Portland freeways". kgw.com. June 8, 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-09-29. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  12. ↑ "Totally tagged: What's being done about Portland's graffiti problem". kgw.com. August 22, 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  13. ↑ Gallivan, Joseph (2022-03-09). "Tag, you're it: Scrubbing Portland's graffiti". PortlandTribune.com. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  14. ↑ "ODOT awards $2M in contracts to clean up graffiti and litter in Portland". kgw.com. February 19, 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-09-02. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  15. ↑ "ODOT is out of money for removing graffiti around Portland". kgw.com. August 29, 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-09-02. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  16. ↑ Kaplan, Ezra (2024-06-12). "Major Portland highway closure scheduled for graffiti cleanup". KPTV. Archived from the original on 2025-01-28. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  17. ↑ "'Clean up the community': Oregon Department of Transportation starts graffiti cleanup along Portland highways". kgw.com. 2024-05-08. Archived from the original on 2024-05-09. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  18. ↑ Haas, Elise (March 12, 2025). "Graffiti out, ivy in to 'make Portland beautiful again'". Archived from the original on April 6, 2025. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  19. ↑ Liedle, Chris (2019-07-02). "Portland business turn to street artists to help deter graffiti taggers". KATU. Archived from the original on 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  20. ↑ "Why Local Leaders Can't Seem to Clean the Graffiti Off Portland". Willamette Week. 2024-01-31. Archived from the original on 2024-02-03. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  21. ↑ "Gonzalez to Introduce Ordinance Creating New Penalties for Graffiti". Willamette Week. 2024-09-13. Archived from the original on 2025-01-22. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  22. ↑ Shaikh, Zaeem (2025-01-14). "Portland graffiti crackdown scrubbed from agenda". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2025-04-02. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  23. ↑ "A pro skateboarder is accused of tagging graffiti all over Portland". kgw.com. August 24, 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  24. ↑ "'Nobody wants dozens of felony counts': Graffiti investigation in Portland leads police to cache of guns". kgw.com. April 25, 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  25. 1 2 "Police raid Portland's 'King of Graffiti' after viral YouTube video". KATU. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  26. ↑ "YouTube docuseries leads to $10K of spray paint in alleged graffiti artist's Portland home". Archived from the original on 2025-01-11. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  27. ↑ Todd, Tatum (2025-01-02). "Alleged Portland graffiti tagger arrested after avoiding capture for months; police find $10K worth of spray paint in his house". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2025-01-18. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  28. ↑ "'Serious consequences': Chronic Portland graffiti tagger sentenced to prison". KOIN.com. 2026-01-13. Archived from the original on 2026-01-13. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  29. ↑ "To Catch Graffiti Taggers, Two Portland Police Officers Become Experts in Their Styles". Willamette Week. 2024-02-28. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  30. ↑ Jensen, Alex (January 13, 2026). "Prolific Portland tagger sentenced to 4 years on dozens of graffiti-related charges".
  31. 1 2 Asbury, Zoe (Aug 4, 2026). "Graffiti artist 'THULA' sentenced to 2 years for damaging multiple Portland area properties".
  32. 1 2 Funk, Isabel (2026-08-04). "Prolific Portland tagger, caught after posting about her graffiti on social media, sentenced to 2 years in prison". oregonlive. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
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