By Pepper Fisher
SEQUIM – In the wake of last weekend’s discovery of racist and threatening graffiti on exterior walls of Helen Haller Elementary School and Sequim Middle School, which led to the first day of school having beefed-up security from law enforcement, we thought the situation was worth a follow-up.
We reached out to the Sequim Police Department and asked if this was an isolated incident, if there was an uptick in graffiti recently in the Sequim area, and what messaging the police had for area residents.
Sgt. Dave Campbell says it would be reasonable to think that the Sequim area had been inundated with graffiti lately, but the opposite is true. Last year he says, 56 total cases of graffiti were reported. This year, it’s only 7 so far.
“It’s way down. I’m sure you can take into account that some people don’t report everything. Graffiti’s kind of considered a nuisance crime. Some people will just go out and cover it up. But in cases like this, it’s critical that people call. We could very well get this case solved, this one in particular, just by what other people know.”
He describes graffiti as a streaky crime, often committed by the same suspects in the same neighborhoods or area, and encourages the public to report any incidents similar to the school tags, because it allows police to crime map and track where and when it happens.
As far as this most recent event is concerned, and the investigation, Sgt. Campbell had this to say;
“Yeah, I’m very confident we’re going to have the suspect, or suspects, in custody before long. I hate to put a timeline on that, of course, but we’re following up on some pretty good leads.”