Call for Diligence Following Vandalism Spree at 19th Ave Park

It's been a week since taggers sprayed gang-related graffiti over seven residential properties in the 19th Avenue Park neighborhood, and locals are painting over the mess and moving on.

But Sgt. Dave Norris, spokesman for the San Mateo Police Department, says vigilince is key to catching the culprits. Usually, he said, it’s the neighbors who “notice what’s going on and call us up and we make the arrest.”

Sometime last Friday evening, vandals struck the neighborhood near the 1700 block of South Delaware Street and spray painted gang symbols on seven homes. Norris said the tags were sprayed on garage doors, fence lines and, in once case, on the side of a home.

Although vandalism sprees like this one are not out of the ordinary, Norris said, it's "not real often do we get something like that in a real residential neighborhood." The neighborhood around 19th Avenue Park is not considered a high-crime area, Norris said.

In general, he said, "This type of a flurry of tagging activity, it happens maybe once every couple months."

He noted that "19th Avenue Park is a fairly isolated area. … There’s only one road in and one road out. It’s a small residential community, and fairly tight-knit” -- making it even more unusual for a tagging spree to occur there.

Police have stepped up patrols in the neighborhood in response to the taggings, and because vandals are often first spotted by residents, an alert was put out to the community. Norris said the case is now in the hands of San Mateo’s Neighborhood Response Team, a "mixed-bag enforcement team" which deals with gang-related crimes.

Anyone who sees suspicious activity in the area is asked to call 911 or the San Mateo Police Department's non-emergency number at (650) 522-7700. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the Secret Witness Line at (650) 522-7676, send an anonymous text to (650) 262-3473, or e-mail sanmateo@tipnow.org.