Residents Clean-Up But Where are the Graffiti Vandals?

A team of residents from Little Manly Precinct did a great job cleaning up graffiti on Sunday for Graffiti Action Day.  This was a  fantastic community event and thanks to Ray Mathieson for co-coordinating it, but everyone continues to ask - "when are we going to get serious about treating graffiti as a crime"?

It's estimated that in NSW alone we spend around $100m a year removing graffiti and most Councils, including Manly, have contractors working weekly or even daily removing graffiti in their area.  Blacktown City Council, for example, has an annual budget of $800,000 for the purpose - money that could be better spent!

Ways you can get involved:
• Call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333000 if you see graffiti in progress
• Call Police Assistance Line on 131 444 if your property is hit by graffiti
• Contact your local council who can assist with names of contractors or provide kits for removal.

Update from Manly Daily - 26/8/11
Manly Council voted earlier this month to incorporate an internet-based graffiti reporting system on its website to help residents better report vandalism in their area. It already operates a phone-based scheme, which allows residents to supply photos and provides police with information for identifying and tracking tags.

The council spent $76,373 in the 2008/09 financial year on removing illegal graffiti and had budgeted $85,000 for the service the following year, according to the most recent available figures.

The new online system is expected to be operational within a month.

Manly Council recommends calling the police assistance line on 13 14 44 to report graffiti on residents’ own property and its own graffiti hotline, on 9976 1633, to report tags on council or other people’s property.

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