Could naming and shaming vandals be the solution to curb graffiti in Hume?
The council spent more than $200,000 in the past financial year cleaning up after vandals to remove more than 18,700 square metres of graffiti. Volunteers also removed an additional 14,950 square metres of graffiti across the municipality.
The most requests for graffiti removal came from Craigieburn, Sunbury and Broadmeadows, according to a report tabled at the council’s August meeting.
Hume council received 697 graffiti removal requests and 81 calls to its graffiti reporting hotline, with most of the sites being community facilities such as park furniture, buildings and public toilets.
Sunbury councillor Jack Medcraft said he was fed up with the proliferation of graffiti around the region and called for harsher penalties for vandals.
“We need a review of the closed circuit cameras that we have so that we can catch these offenders,” Cr Medcraft said.
He wanted offenders to be made to wear vests that identify them as vandals while cleaning up their graffiti.
Sunbury Pride program founder Alan Douglas believes the regular removal of graffiti often discourages vandals from repeat offending. The program operates two vans, from the Craigieburn and Sunbury police stations, for volunteers to go out and clean graffiti.
Hume council has a program that involves young people painting legal street murals and police directing youths to diversionary programs. “These programs do work; they just don’t work for everyone,” Mr Douglas said.
Report graffiti on 1300 486 325.
