Graffiti Fact Sheet 2009.DOC - Liverpool City Council

Fact sheet
WHY A GRAFFITI FACT SHEET?
Liverpool City Council is committed to providing a clean, safe and welcoming environment for residents,
workers and visitors. However, in recent years Council has been dealing with a large and growing
volume of illegal graffiti vandalism within the area which makes this difficult to achieve. This fact sheet
has been created to inform local residents and businesses about graffiti and what can be done to
reduce its impact on the community.
It is important for everyone to take ownership of their neighbourhood and to work with local
authorities to reduce illegal graffiti activity. Reducing graffiti improves the image of local
neighbourhoods and the quality of life for residents.
WHAT IS GRAFFITI?
Graffiti is vandalism of private and public property with marking or graphics without the owners
consent. Graffiti can take multiple forms, including words or images, using chalk, paint, textas, scratches
or even acid etching. In some cases it can include stickers and billposters. Research shows that graffiti is
usually committed by young males aged between 12-25 years old.
Graffiti is a type of criminal vandalism that costs the community many thousands of dollars each year to
clean up. It is punishable by imprisonment, community service orders or fines of up to $2000.
Prosecuting graffiti vandals is important as a deterrent. It is also important to educate young people
and adults about the negative impacts of graffiti vandalism on our neighbourhoods.
Graffiti can send out a message that a community is unconcerned about its appearance. Graffiti can act
as an invitation to other anti-social behaviour, including loitering, littering and other forms of
vandalism. It also tends to attract more graffiti. It can lower property values and frighten away
businesses.
WHAT IS LIVERPOOL CITY COUNCIL DOING ABOUT GRAFFITI?
Liverpool City Council reviewed the first Graffiti Management Strategy and endorsed the Graffiti
Management Strategy 2009-2011, which aims to reduce and more effectively address the significant
and growing problem of illegal graffiti in Liverpool. The Graffiti Management Strategy identifies and
draws together the graffiti-related activities that Council already undertakes and proposes a range of
new strategies.
Council’s Graffiti Management Strategy includes actions under the following key areas:
• Community education and engagement
• Removal
• Prevention
• Art redirection
• Partnerships
(For more information visit www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au )

Fact sheet
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO MAKE YOUR LOCAL AREA SAFER?
• Keep an eye on your own property
• Be aware of what is going on in your local area
• Get to know your neighbours
• Monitor the behaviour of your children and their friends and tell them that graffiti is a crime
for which they would be punished
• Direct young people to art redirection projects (through Council) where ‘graffiti art’ can be
done legally
• Report graffiti crime in your area to the Police (see numbers below) – you don’t have to
provide your name or address
• Report graffiti on public property to Council (see number below)
• Encourage your children to report graffiti to you, their school or the Police
• If you witness graffiti being done, don’t approach the offender, call your local police
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO REPORT GRAFFITI?
• To help stop this activity in your area
• To enable graffiti to be cleaned up
• To create a safer place
• To create a sense of community pride and ownership
• To improve the image and the property values of the area
WHAT DO THE POLICE NEED TO KNOW?
• Where the graffiti is, time of incident, date of incident
• Whether the offender is still in the area and is he/she known to you
• A full description of the offender (clothing, appearance, approximate height and weight) and
any vehicles (colour, make, registration)
• A description of the graffiti itself
• Note: graffiti is considered malicious damage to property so graffiti should be reported as an
incident of malicious damage
LIVERPOOL POLICE – 9821 8444 for Liverpool residents
GREEN VALLEY POLICE – 9607 1799 for Green Valley residents
POLICE ASSISTANCE LINE (PAL) – 131 444 for graffiti and other crime which does not require urgent
attention
NSW POLICE CRIME STOPPERS – 1800 333 000 to make a report without providing your name and
contact details
LIVERPOOL CITY COUNCIL - 1300 36 2170 to report graffiti on public property for removal and to enquire
about art redirection projects and other graffiti initiatives
ONLINE REPORTING – Visit Council’s website at www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au - click on Services – Online
Services -Customer Services – Road Requests – Graffiti Removal to report graffiti on public property
Thank you for helping to make your neighbourhood
a better place for everyone to live!