Graffiti vandals: `Shame them in public’

BY ILONA MARCHETTA
10/12/2008 9:53:00 AM
GRAFFITI offenders would wear a bright, emblazoned T-shirt and be sent to the most public places to clean up their act, if frustrated Leumeah businessman Les Turner was in charge.

“They’d have to lob up on a Saturday morning for weeks in a row and face the embarrassment of everyone watching them cleaning up their mess,” Mr Turner said.

“And it should be every single person, no matter what their age.”

Mr Turner’s push for tougher legislation around graffiti crime was echoed in a flood of phone calls and emails the Advertiser received after we revealed last week that most local vandals caught for the crime were given “slap-on-the-wrist” cautions or sent to a case conference where they faced their victims.

Times could be changing Mayor Russell Matheson with Campbelltown councillors, Campbelltown police command Chief Inspector Bryan Doyle and dozens of residents have said “enough’s enough” and are urging for legislation to be re-examined.

“Things need to be toughened up, there’s no deterrent at the current time,” said Cr Matheson, citing the council’s annual graffiti clean-up bill as in excess of $200,000.

“It’s clear that [case conferencing] is ineffective when it comes to community property. Who will they meet, the general manager of council?”

He said the council was waiting for a report on the feasibility of mobile surveillance around Campbelltown, which would still come at a cost to ratepayers.

Campbelltown MP and Juvenile Justice Minister Graham West said there was evidence to suggest “name and shame” tactics were “counterproductive” and worn instead as a badge of honour.

He said he wanted to see how the new Graffiti Control Bill, which gives police greater power to search for graffiti implements such as spray cans, worked.

“It worries me that quite often we blame juveniles for this and there is evidence that people over 18, who well and truly should know better, are doing graffiti,” he said. “So there are two categories of offenders and I think with young kids, we should be putting them back on track.

“When we get these kids, as well as dealing with the crime we need to be asking questions about what’s happening at home, what sort of supervision they are getting … it might be a sign of a much more serious problem that we also need to deal with.”

But Mr West’s approach has been slammed by many readers, including Ken Bourke of Eschol Park.

“All the community gets from our elected MP is drivel trotted out by policy advisers and care bears who have a vested interest keeping their jobs and little interest in community values,” he said.

“Mr West, the community is fed up with this vandalism.”

The Advertiser last week asked online readers whether there should be tougher rules on the sale of spray cans in Campbelltown, to which most of the 67 respondents voted “yes”, 31.3 per cent said “no” and 10.4 per cent said they “don’t care”.

Should graffiti offenders be “named and shamed”? Have your say, or vote online, at www.macarthuradvertiser.com.au.

from http://campbelltown.yourguide.com.au/