Anti-fascism graffiti litters North Arlington

Arlington - Police put out a bulletin on Tuesday, notifying the public that they’ve been getting reports of graffiti popping up on street signs, especially in North Arlington. 

The backstory:

This has reportedly been happening since May. The graffiti will typically say the word "fascism" underneath "STOP" on a stop sign, or there’ll be "no racism" or "no kings" written on no parking signs.

Police said writing messages on these signs is a crime, potentially even a felony, depending on the severity of the graffiti and the amount of damage it causes. But beyond that, officials said a major component of the issue is that dealing with all the graffiti is eating up valuable time and resources that could be used elsewhere instead.

What they're saying:

"It does create quality of life issues for our community. It is a concern that we do hear from neighborhoods," Arlington County Police Department Communications Manager Ashley Savage said in a statement. 

"Crews from the Department of Environmental Services have been going out to clean off the graffiti," she added. "Also, at times in which they cannot effectively clean the graffiti, they are having to replace the stop signs. This creates a lot of work for our crews in Arlington County and uses a lot of manpower for things that we should be using other staff time for."

What you can do:

Police are asking for help. Members of the public with information can report tips to 703-228-4180 or ACPDTipLine@arlingtonva.us.