A dirty habit

THE reason why graffiti is on the increase is simple – the city does not promote the toll-free graffiti hotline, or email address to report graffiti or that graffiti will be removed at no direct expense to the landholder for free from private, commercial and public property.
It is as simple as taking a photo and emailing it via a smartphone to casey@ums.com.au or via a freecall on 1800 826 325 with the location. It is the best policy in Australia.
I ask council per head of population what is the number of graffiti reports now compared to say 2008 when we had a different councillors, one in particular, very active on the issue.
Has Casey stopped recouping clean-up costs from these vandals? Now that was a deterrent ensuring vandals paid for the clean up of their mess, and reimbursed the city for clean-up costs. Has council stopped taking reports of graffiti?
It is obvious no-one is reporting graffiti; it is left for months. Casey looks dirty and is encouraging crime through neglect, the same way New York went after Mayor Giuliani left office and Onkaparinga and Gossnells councils did after key councillors and staff moved on.
Promote the graffiti hotline, engage with those on the road like real estate agents, cab drivers, council’s 1000-plus staff, schools, bus drivers, community groups, locals – ask them to report one tag a week.
Re- implement the ‘if you spray, you pay campaign’ and finally look to local company Tripwire, as an addition to council efforts. This company is successfully working with police in the USA, and apprehending vandals. Casey, only a few years ago was praised as among a world leader and graffiti-free!
Look back to what was being done. Nothing has changed with the vandals. They are simply spraying anything they choose. What has changed is Casey Council’s lack of dedication to remove graffiti. Casey has a policy in place that mirrors what other cities successfully did, what Casey successfully did, but now also mirrors the same failings as other cities.
Casey Council has changed from being pro-active to having a slow, reactive, expensive removal service … but it does not have to remain so.
Julia Welham,
Lynbrook.