New initiative illustrates graffiti problem
A county-wide, police-led campaign in Northamptonshire has been launched to tackle graffiti and associated anti-social behaviour and criminal damage.
A county-wide, police-led campaign in Northamptonshire has been launched to tackle graffiti and associated anti-social behaviour and criminal damage.
Northamptonshire Polices Operation Illustration is the brainchild of Wellingborough police community support officer (PCSO) Phil Wane, who has been working with the towns safer community team to track graffiti writers and bringing offenders to justice.
His work in Wellingborough is now being replicated by PCSOs in other parts of the county in a bid to energise Community Safety Partnerships in Northamptonshire to help tackle a problem that raises the perception of the prevalence of anti-social behaviour and criminality.
From this month, the public can #NameThatTag from images displayed on the force website and its social media sites, Facebook and Twitter.
PCSO Wane hopes that encouraging members of the public to #NameThatTag will bring in more information about those responsible for graffiti writing.
He said: There is a clear link between areas of graffiti and anti-social behaviour, such as littering and drinking, and a perception that young people hanging around are causing trouble.
Graffiti is defined as writing or drawings that are scribbled, scratched or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place and graffiti writers use spray paint, stickers, stencils and pencils to mark their territory.
There is almost an acceptance that graffiti is a way of life, that it wont go away, that there is little point addressing the problem.
There is a clear impression that nobody cares and we have to address that if we want to make the areas where we live safer and more pleasant places to be.
We have to work more effectively with our partners to tackle the problem and by taking an education and enforcement message into our schools and out to a young audience via social media.
The campaign which can be followed on Twitter @Op_Illustration aims to bring in more information about graffiti and increase detections and community resolutions around anti-social behaviour.