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Search for press releasesGovernment Targets Graffiti Taggers
20 November 2003
An offensive against unsightly and expensive graffiti tags was launched today by the Government as part of its drive to tackle the anti-social behaviour which can blight communities.
The campaign will offer a £500 reward to those prepared to name the most prolific ‘taggers’. It will be promoted with a poster campaign highlighting the unsightly signatures which graffiti offenders have left on rail and Underground carriages, bridges, buildings and embankments in London, Manchester and Liverpool.
The 'Name that tag' campaign will be backed by clean-ups for the areas worst affected and pilots of tough news measures to ensure graffiti is removed.
The campaign spearheads a new programme of action which forms the 'Together' campaign, announced last month as part of the Government’s action plan on anti-social behaviour. Over the coming months 'Together' will roll-out across the country in a series of targeted work tackling abandoned cars, graffiti, begging and nuisance neighbours.
Home Office Minister, Hazel Blears, said:
"Graffiti tagging is not harmless fun. It creates eyesores which blight our communities and damage people’s quality of life. Graffiti tags spoil our enjoyment of public places, increase fear of crime and foster an environment where crime and anti-social behaviour can thrive. They are a burden on businesses and local authorities who are left to clean up graffiti on property and public spaces. Clean-up costs alone can run into millions of pounds a year which we all have to pay for.
"Removing graffiti is essential if we are to restore confidence in communities and help address the problems of anti-social behaviour. This campaign is part of a concerted drive by the Government to improve people’s lives in the communities most affected by anti-social behaviour. Through the Government’s ‘Together’ campaign and anti-social behaviour action plan we are working with people across the county, at every level, to improve communities.
"I am pleased the Home Office has joined with Network Rail, London Underground, Crimestoppers, Adshel and the British Transport Police to tackle the problem of graffiti so we can make our communities better places to live and work."
Kim Howells, Transport Minister, said:
"Not only do graffiti and tagging cost the transport industry millions of pounds in repair bills but they add to the fear of crime amongst passengers who use our trains and buses. That is why campaigns like this are so important in helping stamp out this vandalism."
Three tags from the campaign will feature in tonight’s BBC Crimewatch, along with footage of one of the offenders. The programme will also show the Harry Potter Hogwarts Express train which was daubed with graffiti in September this year.
People will be urged to ‘phone Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to ‘Name that tag’ if they know who is behind the featured tags. Those giving information leading to a conviction could be eligible for the reward, but as with all calls to Crimestoppers, callers are never asked for their name and their calls are never traced.
Julie France, Managing Director of Adshel, who have donated 500 Adshel sites on bus shelters in London, said:
"Adshel is delighted to be supporting this initiative to help combat anti-social behaviour. Well-designed, graffiti-free bus shelters play a key role in enhancing the environment - this is why Adshel spends millions of pounds and works with community groups nationwide to stamp out vandalism and keep our shelters in the best possible condition."
Ian Johnston, Chief Constable, British Transport Police, said:
"The effect of graffiti on people's perceptions of their own safety is enormous. It is a pernicious stain on modern society that affects us all.
"This initiative by the Home Office with Crimestoppers will, I hope, help us in the daily battle to stop the taggers and graffiti vandals and improve the quality of the travelling environment for everyone."
Crimestoppers Chief Executive Officer, Michael Laurie CBE, said:
"Crimestoppers is delighted to be involved with a campaign which affects everyone on a daily basis and we anticipate wonderful results. It is also an excellent example of how effective partnerships between like-minded organisations can achieve far more by working together than operating independently."
London Underground Managing Director, Tim O' Toole, said:
"London Underground and Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London through his transport body, Transport for London, are pleased this campaign is being trialled on the Tube network.
"Graffiti is the scourge of our network and costs us £13m a year. This campaign will help reduce that."
Iain Coucher, Deputy Chief Executive, Network Rail, said.
"Network Rail fully supports the Home Office's 'Name That Tag' campaign. The visual impact of the railway is important to passengers and those living close by and we spend considerable effort each year on cleaning up graffiti. We hope that identifying graffiti taggers will create a better environment for those using the railway and the local community."
Notes to editors:
- The campaign will run for three months initially in London on the Underground and main train stations and on the train stations in Manchester and Liverpool.
- There are four separate posters – one each for overground trains and Underground in London and overground trains in Manchester and Liverpool. The posters will soon be featured on bus shelters in London. Further tags will be publicised once offenders are caught.
- People are able to give information anonymously to Crimestoppers and if it leads to a conviction they could be eligible for a reward.
- The Government’s action plan on anti-social behaviour was launched on October 14 (Home Office press notice: 278/2003). It sets out how the Government will tackle anti-social behaviour, including environmental crime. Operation Scrap-it will tackle abandoned cars, Operation Gate-it provides gates for alleyways so they cannot be misused and Operation Scrub-it will address graffiti through the Name that tag campaign along with intensive 100 days clean-ups in 10 areas.
- The Anti-Social behaviour Bill contains measures to tackle graffiti, including: widening the use of penalty notices for disorder, a new offence to sell spray paints to under-16s and pilots in 12 areas to clean off graffitti from street furniture and the property of public transport and utility companies.
- Crimewatch is on BBC 1 at 9pm tonight.
