$250 reward offered for info on graffiti vandalism

A $250 reward is being offered to anyone who provides information to University Police concerning graffiti vandalism at Western Washington University that leads to successful prosecution or disciplinary action for those involved with the graffiti.

The reward money is being funded by the Paint Shop at Western’s Facilities Management. The university has been experiencing an unprecedented amount of graffiti on its buildings, public areas and Outdoor Sculpture Collection, said Randy Stegmeier, chief of University Police.

Last year alone, graffiti damage cost the university nearly $32,000 and this year is trending nearly as bad. Over a five-year period, the cost will exceed $100,000.

In October, the Associated Students also was victimized by someone who spray-painted two of the Student Shuttle buses and the shuttle storage shed. The clean-up and repairs cost for this one incident was over $1,300, which came from student transportation fee funds.

“Graffiti is not just unsightly but causes significant expenditures of very scarce funds to clean it up,” said AS President Anna Ellermeier. “That money could be better used to preserve our beautiful campus and cover some of the other escalating maintenance and operations costs we are facing.”

Those with any information about graffiti vandalism are asked to submit information via this form or to call University Police at (360) 650-3555.