By Denise Deason
ONE year on, the Wyndham City Council has hailed its big-budget graffiti management strategy a huge success.
The strategy combines principles of prevention, education, support, removal, legislation, policing and prosecution to minimise graffiti levels in the municipality.
The council, at its recent meeting, voted to continue the strategy until 2009.
Wyndham CEO Ian Robins said the council had allocated $421,668 in its proposed budget for 2007-08.
“This incorporates the cost of graffiti removal, equipment, staff wages, education campaigns and prevention initiatives such as tree-planting,” he said.
Cr Bob Fairclough described the strategy as “an excellent program”.
“About 25,000 square metres of graffiti has been cleared from properties,” he said.
“Another area of success is the murals sponsored by council. It seems to be an unwritten code among people who do this that you don’t touch someone else’s art. So, adopting a murals policy offers a reasonable solution.”
Cr Kim McAliney was concerned that the punishment for defacement of public and private properties did not fit the crime.
“You hear of a case where people who have caused $700,000 of damage with graffiti get community-based orders,” she said.
“I think the State Government needs to take a really hard line on this.
“Community-based orders for nearly $1 million of graffiti is not acceptable.”
Cr Cynthia Manson said the reasons why people do graffiti should be looked at. “Why is it happening?” she asked. “Only when we address those issues will we have a better life for the community.”
The council believes graffiti not only affects the aesthetic enjoyment of the city but also the community’s perception of safety.
In the 2005 Wyndham safety survey, graffiti was mentioned by 45 per cent of residents as an issue, coming second only to road safety, at 79 per cent, and rating higher than house burglaries, at 43 per cent.
Projects implemented under the strategy include:
• Using council-sponsored murals at designated spots and planting trees along fences as preventative measures;
• Attendance by more than 800 students at an education program about the costs and negative impact of graffiti;
• Implementation of the shared cost graffiti removal service, where the council pays the first $80, then shares the cost with residents and traders;
• Distribution of 150 free graffiti clean-up kits to residents and businesses;
• Drafting of the voluntary code of conduct with local retailers to limit the supply of spray paint to people under 18;
• The weekly auditing of 10 graffiti hotspots and monthly auditing of the entire municipality.
The council is also awaiting the passing of the Graffiti Prevention Act by the Victorian Parliament, which may facilitate a new local law making graffiti an offence.
