Cooperation reduces graffiti

The coordinated and cooperative approach to graffiti and tag removal in north Rodney is paying dividends. Police in Warkworth say the number of complaints has dropped to almost nil in recent months.

The credit is being given to the Respect Rodney graffiti eradication project, a joint public-private initiative funded by the Ministry of Justice. While Rodney District Council and utilities such as Vector take responsibility for cleaning public property, Springboard, the programme for ‘at risk’ youth, based at Snells Beach, is removing graffiti from private property in north Rodney.

“We really want to keep on top of this problem, because graffiti left on walls, fences and alleyways encourages more graffiti,” says Springboard director Gary Diprose. “We’re trying to encourage private individuals to participate by painting out any graffiti on their own property as soon as it happens. If this isn’t possible, then we want them to report the graffiti to Council as soon as possible.”

Mr Diprose says the project provides paint and basic equipment, and Springboard supplies the labour.

“Initially, the boys weren’t happy about painting over the graffiti and worried that it was disrespectful to the taggers,” Mr Diprose says.

“It’s provided some valuable lessons for them and they’ve come to appreciate what it feels like to have private property defaced in this way. They’ve done a complete turn-around and now take a lot of pride in the clean walls.”

Police youth aid officer John Williams says the fast removal of graffiti reduces the incentive for taggers to keep tagging.

“Graffiti is normally the first sign of dysfunction in a community so it’s fantastic to see the local community taking pride in its own environment,” he says.

Mr Diprose says photos are taken of all the tags, which are then kept on a national police database.

“This makes it easier to identify who might be responsible.”

Mr Diprose says comments from the public have been mixed – most supportive, but others telling the group that they are wasting their time.

For information, contact Rodney graffiti project officer Roslyn Prictor on 0800 426 5169 or email roslyn.prictor@rodney.govt.nz