06 August 2004
Councils that allow graffiti artists space in which to express themselves are encouraging criminal behaviour, campaigners argued this week.
Sue Nelson, assistant chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: 'Graffiti is a crime, it's as simple as that, and giving someone a wall to write on is like giving a burglar a house full of goods to practise breaking and entering.'
She added that there was no evidence to suggest that 'legitimate graffiti walls' reduced the spread of graffiti elsewhere.
A Keep Britain Tidy report says that English local authorities are spending £27m a year on graffiti removal, while it costs London Underground £12m.
The August 2 report found that although 89% of local authorities describe graffiti as a problem, 53% have no dedicated cleaning team, while a similar proportion have failed to establish a hotline to allow residents to report it. Almost two-thirds of councils said they had never run an initiative or campaign to crack down on graffiti.
Nelson also hit out at advertisers, which she said used graffiti images in order to give products an 'edgy' appeal. Even organisations such as the Royal Horticultural Society and the Eden Project were criticised for featuring graffitied objects in their displays. Keep Britain Tidy has won the support of 122 MPs, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, who have signed a statement condemning graffiti as crime rather than art.
The campaign was also backed by the Association of London Government. 'Graffiti costs boroughs nearly £7m a year to clean up. It also blights communities,' said Phil Portwood, chair of the ALG's transport and environment committee.
Last month, the government launched a consultation that proposes joint working between councils and police on environmental crime. Ministers stressed that graffiti holds back the regeneration agenda.
PFaug2004
