Police are looking into reports of several private properties being spray-painted with graffiti recently, according to a Cleveland.com article at the above link. Most of the incidents seem to be concentrated in the central part of the city.
This reminds me of a 2010 incident where several people were arrested following a rash of graffiti. The city put out a press release in March of 2010 following this incident that stated :
Now, the dictionary definitions of "gang" and "subculture" seem very similar. Also, it may just be me, but I have never heard of a subculture or gang that's only activities are "damaging property through graffiti"."Investigation revealed that most all of the suspects knew each other or of each other in a loosely affiliated sub-culture that promotes damaging property through graffiti. None of the graffiti was gang related."
Fast-forward to 2015, and gangs appear to be alive and at least somewhat well in Lakewood. See attachment below for a police report stating that "Crip" was written on a Lakewood City Schools-owned building and another police report where a man reported that he was robbed on the street by members of the Heartless Felons.
For more information on the Crips, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crips
The Heartless Felons gang started in prisons, and is rapidly growing and expanding throughout the area. They have been in the news frequently as of late.
There you have it. Stay safe.