Measurable progress made against graffiti in Auckland

Another sign that Auckland City Council is winning the battle against graffiti, is a survey result finding the city is 95 per cent graffiti free – up from 88 per cent a year ago.

The independent survey, conducted last month and based on a recognised international measure, assesses the level of ambient graffiti – such as vandalism in streets, parks, public and private buildings. It is conducted every six months on behalf of Auckland City Council.

“This fantastic achievement indicates our council-initiated graffiti-eradication programmes are working well,” says Councillor Paul Goldsmith, chairperson of the Community Services Committee.

“The council is focused on tackling graffiti vandalism so that Aucklanders can enjoy a city that looks and feels safe.

“Auckland City Police have also apprehended 81 graffiti vandals between 1 July 2009 and 31 January. This shows how committed the council and the community are about being graffiti-free,” he says.

Two youths were recently caught vandalising a Western Springs Stadium wall thanks to the quick thinking of an Auckland City Council officer.

Council officer Bruce Edwards went to visit arboriculture contractors in the area and was told about the presence of two vandals.

He quickly called the police and the council’s graffiti coordinator, Tony Crampton, who rushed to the scene. Tony and Bruce kept the youths at the scene for 20 minutes until the police arrived. “It was an excellent result,” says Mr Crampton.

This work is part of the council’s comprehensive approach to tackling graffiti vandalism which also includes the Zero Tolerance and Can-Do initiatives.

The council’s Zero Tolerance programme started in 2000, and in July 2008 all graffiti vandalism began to be photographed and entered into a graffiti-tracker database. This means offenders can be more easily identified and apprehended.

The Can-Do programme, which is run by the council and funded by the Ministry of Justice’s Crime Prevention Unit, aims to make it harder for graffiti vandals to get hold of material such as spray paint. This means educating retailers of their responsibility under the Summary Offences Act 1981 (as amended in 2008) to restrict the sale of spray paint to those under 18. The project, which finished last month, started with a 90 per cent compliance rate and now has a 100 per cent compliance rate.

Auckland City Council also offers a free graffiti removal service for residential and small business property owners unable to cope with the problem themselves.

This service, which also proactively removes instances of graffiti vandalism across the city, is also having great success

For every 17 removal jobs the staff carry out, there is only one call into the council service centre – showing the proactive effort being carried out to clean the city.

ENDS

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