PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) - It's an eyesore seen around the City of Portland, and police say it only seems to be getting worse.
Graffiti is plaguing businesses and bus stops around town.
Our partners at the Portland Tribune report that the City of Portland is now adding resources to deal with the growing problem.
Graffiti investigators with the Portland Police Bureau said they've seen graffiti increase over the last five years.
No matter where you go around town, you're likely to see some signs of graffiti.
Portland police said less than 15 percent of the graffiti you see is gang related and that most of it comes from taggers.
The city recognizes there is a problem and has now set aside some extra funds to hire a second graffiti investigator to help deal with the growing problem and make more arrests.
"The majority of our taggers are between the age of 18 and 35 and they're not juveniles. They're old enough to know better, usually educated and come from middle class families," said Matt Miller, one of the bureau's graffiti investigators.
Last week someone used the public mural on Southeast 33rd Avenue at Hawthorne Street as the backdrop for his or her tag.
Police said damage like this adds up to more than a thousand dollars and that it is an automatic felony.
The city does have information on graffiti abatement and how you can report graffiti in your neighborhood here.
You can read more about this story in Thursday's Portland Tribune.
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