New Instagram page aims to stamp out graffiti in Charlottetown
Nicole Williams | CBC News | Posted: December 28, 2017 10:40 PM | Last Updated: December 28, 2017
Former state trooper concerned about graffiti in Island capital
A new Instagram account is calling out different graffiti tags around downtown Charlottetown, with the hopes of putting a stop to it.
Stop Graffiti in Our City is only a week old, but it has already posted about a dozen examples of buildings that have been tagged with graffiti.
"It is a problem, it needs to be addressed," said the account's creator, Laurie Thompson.
'It's a tourist Island'
Thompson recently moved to Charlottetown to retire, but said she's been visiting the Island her whole life.
"I just want to be able to be at peace and calm," she said. "It's a tourist Island. I'd love for the tourists to come and not see this kind of stuff on our buildings."
Thompson was a state trooper in Boston and Baltimore for 15 years before she moved to the Island.
She said she's had experience with taggers and reporting graffiti, and added it not only spoils the neighbourhood, but can quickly escalate into more serious problems.
"Because being a state trooper in the states, and knowing what this leads to . . . I don't want it to progress," she said. "It can easily progress into something that's not welcome in such a close knit community. With graffiti comes crime and violence."
A photo a day
Thompson has been posting a photo to the account every day and said she has dozens more examples of graffiti waiting to be posted.
"I see it, I take a photo," she said.
Thompson said she decided to start the account after speaking with local friends who didn't realize how much graffiti was in the city.
It's not an artist doing a mural on some local merchant's store. It's graffiti.
— Laurie Thompson
"It's not pretty," she said. "It's not an artist doing a mural on some local merchant's store. It's graffiti."
Thompson said her goal is the discourage any more graffiti and added that she would be interested in being part of a clean up crew to help in removing the tags from public buildings.
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