A safety partnership is urging residents who have fallen foul of graffiti vandals to take advantage of new removal kits – one of the latest weapons against this anti-social problem.
Homeowners and businesses hit with graffiti are responsible for their own clear-up as Babergh, as the local authority, does not have a duty to remove graffiti from private property.
As a result, the Babergh Community Safety Partnership (CSP) has, in a bid to help with this, bought easy-to-use graffiti-removal kits, suitable for removing small scale graffiti from surfaces like fencing, paintwork etc – available for anyone to use.
The CSP - which is made up of representatives from Babergh, Suffolk police, Suffolk County Council, Suffolk Primary Care Trust, fire and rescue service, probation service and Suffolk Drug and Alcohol Action Team - has been distributing the kit to town and parish councils in a bid to help homeowners with a clean up.
Ann Scott, Babergh’s Community Safety Officer, said: “The CSP recognised there was a costly problem with the clear up of graffiti-related crimes.
“The idea is simple: when a member of the public reports graffiti on their property to their town or parish council, the kit will be loaned to them to ensure quick removal.
“Leaving graffiti on property can give a boost to the perpetrator, attract more graffiti and help to fuel people’s perceptions of crime. Having these kits available at short notice not only gets rid of the visual problem without delay but hopefully is one way we can try and stamp out this type of anti-social behaviour recurring.”
Peter Swinney, Babergh’s Estate Ranger, has been using the kit - which includes chemicals to remove spray paint, ink and marker pens, safety goggles, gloves and cleaning brushes - to clean up spots of graffiti on Babergh-owned property.
He said: “The kit is fantastic, comes with all the vitals needed to get rid of graffiti, and is very easy to use.
“Babergh does not have a huge amount of this type of crime but when it does happen, it can be annoying, time consuming to clean off – and expensive if you hire out contractors.”
The CSP has also funded digital cameras for Police Community Support Officers and various Babergh staff so they can take pictures of graffiti – or tags - while on duty.
These pictures are then entered onto a database, shared with Suffolk Police, in a bid to try and identify the people responsible, which will commonly use the same tag on each piece of graffiti. The database will also help build evidence in order for the police to bring charges.
If you would like more information on which parishes are using the removal kits please call Ann Scott, Babergh’s Community Safety Officer, on (01473) 826616. ENDS
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