Other Stuff
Spray-paint gangs 'feeding ground' for
bikies
Kevin Naughton
02jul06
GRAFFITI offenders are causing $20
million damage a year and becoming ideal recruits for motorcycle gangs
looking for drug sellers, head of the police Graffiti Intelligence Unit
says.
Senior Constable Greg Mason told a
Graffiti Management Forum at Marion Cultural Centre on Friday zero tolerance
was the best response to the crime which had become an increasing problem in
the past three years.
"Graffiti culture promotes gang
activity and anti-social behaviour, which then affects residents who become
scared to leave their homes at night," Sen-Constable Mason said.
"The gangs become a feeding ground for
MCGs (motor cycle gangs) to recruit drug peddlers, so it's more than just a
graffiti problem."
Sen-Constable Mason said police
actions to cut graffiti crime included:
ON-the-spot fines for minor offences
to reduce the impact of prosecutions on the court system. Police have
prepared a discussion paper on the proposal.
CLOSING legal walls - where graffiti
writers are allowed to carry out their activities without penalty. Legal
walls had caused the problem to spread beyond the allowed areas.
PROMOTING zero tolerance in schools. A
project at Blackwood High School resulted in the area becoming graffiti-free
and a reduction in anti-social behaviour including bullying, knife-carrying,
and gang activity.
STRONGER police presence in problem
areas.
The forum, organised by the City of
Marion, KESAB and the Office of the Southern Suburbs heard presentations
from interstate experts and local groups, including demonstrations of
anti-graffiti technology.
More than 140 guests heard examples of
successful interventions and community projects.
TransAdelaide officials unveiled their
latest anti-graffiti strategy which has had instant success.
An Anti-Graffiti Sprinkler System,
designed and built in Adelaide, was installed in Belair stabling yards - an
area where vandals frequently targeted trains.
TransAdelaide environmental
co-ordinator David Klippel-Cooper said the system had sensors to detect
trespassers, spraying a fine mist over the sides of trains to make them
unsuitable for spray-painting with an aerosol can.
"Since the system has been installed,
no trains have been vandalised," he said.
TransAdelaide also installed
razor-sharp spikes on the Daws Rd rail bridge in Mitchell Park to deter
vandals who had targeted the bridge's sides.
"It's a double issue - there's the
safety problem of vandals standing on dangerous ledges above the road and
the damage they cause while they are up there," he said.
Victorian transit police attended the
forum to study successful techniques.
Darren Stanbridge, KFC operations
manager, said graffiti was costing his company more than $110,000 a year at
its 36 SA outlets.
"New technologies, changes to our
building design and the rapid removal of graffiti has seen that halve in the
last couple of years," Mr Stanbridge said.
KESAB executive director John Phillips
said presentations made at the forum would be forwarded to councils and
community organisations on a DVD.
"We can all learn from the success
stories and hopefully achieve a better looking environment," Mr Phillips
said.
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