Among the faces depicted this month on CrimeStoppers of Central Indiana’s “Most Wanted” poster are the usual suspects — folks wanted for murder, arson, drug dealing and robbery.

But one mug shot stands out. Instead of a face, it’s a picture of the signature scrawling of someone known by police only as CHOKE.

And the crime? Graffiti.

It is a reflection of the prolific nature of an active tagger whose CHOKE and STS tags can be spotted all over town.

It also may be a reflection of a growing sentiment that, after decades of dealing with defaced walls, enough is enough.

Not only has a tagger made the “Most Wanted,” Indianapolis is poised to crack down in another way. The city is about to propose its first-ever graffiti ordinance, possibly as early as this month.

Years in the making — and patterned after ordinances in other cities — the proposal would require property owners or tenants to remove or cover graffiti within 30 days of when they are called out by the city.

If not, the city will remove it and either bill the property owner or tack the cleanup costs onto the owner’s property tax bill.

Teri Kendrick, previously the city prosecutor and now interim director of Animal Care and Control, was instrumental in developing the proposed ordinance after years of discussions and researching ordinances elsewhere.

Kendrick said the initiative grew out of a desire to upgrade decaying neighborhoods by removing abandoned houses and encouraging home improvements.

More than an eyesore, police and others say, graffiti attracts crime because it signals that an area is up for grabs and is no one’s pride and joy. They hold to the “broken windows” philosophy that says run-down property invites drugs, prostitution and other crimes in a domino effect.

Kendrick began working on an ordinance during the administration of Mayor Bart Peterson, but other issues, such as weeds, gained priority. Graffiti returned to the front burner after Mayor Greg Ballard took office.

The goal is to have the ordinance introduced to the City-County Council by the end of this month, said Jessica Higdon, a spokeswoman for Ballard.

But it might take longer. The city’s Office of Code Enforcement is reviewing and evaluating the proposed ordinance and trying to figure out how it would be administered.

Graffiti on public property — including parking meters, sidewalks and some bridges — is removed by the Department of Public Works, but it does not clean up private property, said spokesman Steven Hardiman.

Dick Hardin, property manager with McKnight Property Management, regularly has to contend with the work of taggers on marble columns near the parking area attached to Regions Bank in the 200 block of Pennsylvania Street.

He didn’t have a precise cost-estimate but said a special firm he hires to clean porous marble costs several hundred dollars for a few hours’ work on one column — and there have been times when as many as three columns have been defaced at once.

He works with Indianapolis Downtown Inc. and regularly trades information with other property managers.

Indianapolis Downtown Inc. has had a graffiti abatement program for about 15 years, coordinating with businesses, residents, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the Public Works Department to clean up graffiti as quickly as possible.

“We all try to fight it together,” Hardin said.

The proposed ordinance doesn’t trouble him personally — his company already moves quickly to remove graffiti, and he said some enforcement probably is necessary. But he said it could be tough on property owners of vacant buildings already struggling to sell a building or keep maintenance costs under control.

The proposal also would require business that sell graffiti "implements,’’ such as spray paint and etching equipment, to post signs that tell customers graffiti is a crime under state law and listing the possible penalties.

But it’s difficult to catch perpetrators.

Officer Henry Castor, a seven-year veteran of IMPD, estimates some of the scrawls he sees are done in 15 to 20 seconds with an easily concealed “blow pen.”

Officer Tony Brown in IMPD’s Downtown district said it is so tough to catch taggers in the act that he recommends people call 911 if they think someone is painting graffiti.

Lt. Marshall DePew, head of IMPD’s gang unit, agrees.

“We’d rather have 20 suspicious-persons calls and not get anyone,” he said, "than no calls and have them get away.’’

DePew said the vast majority of graffiti is not gang-related. Castor estimated that maybe 10 percent of graffiti is gang-related, and the rest is split between “taggers” who see themselves as artists and spend time on what they do, and hoodlums, probably still in school.

Typically, those caught face a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge, but in some circumstances, they can be charged with a low-level felony.

Castor keeps what he calls “graffiti wipes” in his squad car and paint in his personal truck.

“Whatever it takes,” he said. “The faster you can get on it, the faster it’s painted, the less likely they’ll get back.”