OUR VIEW: Anti-graffiti app makes sense if residents use it
Thanks to a new smartphone application provided by Bakersfield's Public Works Department, residents wanting to get involved in cleaning up the city now have an easier way to contribute. The free "Bakersfield Graffiti" app allows users to take a picture of vandalized surfaces and report the location via a GPS tracking system, which tags the location of the photo.
Think of this as a valuable new tool in our never-ending quest to keep Bakersfield beautiful. City workers can now clean up graffiti-tagged walls much more quickly and efficiently.
With so many apps available today that do so much, it was probably inevitable that the city of Bakersfield get around to employing up-to-date technology. Residents have always been able to report graffiti through the city's website, but with this new app, the process to help in the cleanup is that much easier.
Many residents may have wanted to report graffiti before but never bothered with the necessary steps. But graffiti reporting, at least for those who have the right gadgets, now takes the same effort as a phone call or camera-phone picture. It's yet to be seen what type of impact the app will have on graffiti-plagued neighborhoods. This is just a tool that the city must continue to promote. Still required: people who care about their city.
