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On Broadcast Lane, tucked behind Cabbagetown's shops and studios, a cop walks his beat.

Among the trash bins in the alleyway, Constable Scott Mills points to graffiti-covered brick, drips of neon paint on the concrete curbs below. But he's not lamenting the delinquency of the larger-than-life letters and motifs as you might expect. He knows each one's maker by name: This one is a Bubz original. That one is Phade's. He points to them like a proud father.

These are his surrogate kids - some of Toronto's most respected graffiti artists. As the police services legal graffiti art co-ordinator, his beat is actually just anywhere the spray paint goes.

Broadcast Lane used to be completely "bombed" - covered in rapid-fire graffiti by quick-handed vandals. With Constable Mills's lead, business owners agreed to have their back walls turned into murals to detract from unwanted graffiti tags. Code within the underground world dictates that to tag over is to disrespect. For the past four years, it's been working.

This, Constable Mills will tell you, is graffiti that builds up the city, rather than defacing it.

Even before Rob Ford got vocal about cleaning up Toronto, there was a strict graffiti policy in place. Coined the "Graffiti Abatement Program," the city's goal is to mop up graffiti in a 72-hour period to "work toward urban beautification." Within the Toronto police service, there is similar graffiti eradication strategy. Even pieces by world-famous British artist Banksy were removed overnight when he visited in May.

For property owners, that means footing the cleanup bill when served notice from a bylaw officer.

For Constable Mills, graffiti means opportunities.

After working as a Peel Region officer for 12 years, Constable Mills moved to Toronto's downtown 14th division in 2004. There he worked for the street crime unit focused on gangs, drugs and gun violence. But watching the "revolving door" justice system cycle through the city's youth and spit them back out convinced him there was a better way to solve problems at the street level, he said.

In 2006, he became a community youth officer with Toronto Crime Stoppers and after attending local graffiti events, he started on his plan to reach out to artists. In March of 2007 he posted his first video on his newly created YouTube account, LegalGraffitiArt, which now boasts more than 300 uploads of legal graffiti projects.

With some funding from the city's transformation section of the graffiti abatement program, Constable Mills has been organizing collaborative murals across the city and speaking out about the value of legal art. Social media has largely become his broadcast platform. Under the Twitter handle 'GraffitiBMXCop,' he has nearly 2,000 followers. On Facebook, he signed up for a second account when he maxed out the first's allowed 5,000 friends limit.

He now works as the force's social media officer and social media adviser to Crime Stoppers International, but legal graffiti is still a priority for the father of two. He is constantly working off-the-clock, acquiring wall space, participating in community events, driving the artists around and acting as their personal public relations officer.

"You have to be passionate about it," he said standing in the laneway in plain clothes and a tuque. "It's kind of like a hobby."

For his efforts, he's accrued an army of dedicated artists.

"Scott, he breaks down those doors. I show up, paint and go home," said Kedre Browne - Bubz - a Montreal-born artist who grew up in Mississauga, who came across one of Constable Mills's YouTube videos on legal graffiti in 2007.

"I didn't know that stuff existed," the 22-year-old said. After years of painting illegally on walls in Mississauga, Mr. Browne e-mailed the officer to ask for a place to paint. Constable Mills delivered. Soon Mr. Browne and best friend Jessey Pacho - Phade - were out painting their first legal wall.

Mr. Browne works hard to perfect his style, which is reminiscent of the old-school intricate lettering seen on New York City's subways cars and trains at the birth of hip hop in the 70s. He takes pride in his work knowing, as most do, that it's mostly impermanent.

In a world of underground graffiti art, there are a lot of "haters," Mr. Browne said. Artists like him can be called a sellout for running with the cops. But he's not concerned with what others have to say about his work.

"My relationship with Scott matters more to me than my reputation in the street," Mr. Browne said. "The only good cop I've ever met in my life is Scott."

And since meeting Constable Mills, Mr. Browne and other artists have helped rally support from the tight-knit graffiti community.

"These guys, they're teachers in their own way," Constable Mills said. "I've learned more from Kedre Browne and Jessey Pacho about life than they've learned from me."

Toronto police estimate they rack up 100 graffiti vandalism charges a year. For Mr. Browne, that's 100 new recruits.

"I still have to teach what I know," he said. "Each one, teach one" has become his mantra.

After launching their own blogs and Twitter accounts to promote their work, Mr. Browne and Mr. Pacho were invited to New York City in June by American Internet entrepreneur Jeff Pulver to attend his 140 Character Conference. The event brings together Twitter enthusiasts to discuss the impact of the real-time social network on various industries.

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