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Taggers in South Auckland have been told there is a high probability they will be caught if they deface property with graffiti this summer.
Manukau City councillor Dick Quax said yesterday that the council's use of private investigators over the past 18 months, in partnership with police, had led to many offenders being prosecuted.
"We have got a very effective system going where we are probably putting a tagger a week before the judge," he said. "So we're pretty happy and we're going to make sure that continues."
Mr Quax, the community safety portfolio leader, said almost no taggers were being caught before the use of private investigators.
"Now we're catching a lot and, furthermore, we have a lot of intelligence that I know they haven't acted on," he said.
"So that is something people ought to keep in mind. We do know you tag. We know your name and we are on to you."
Tagging in South Auckland has hit the headlines over the past year with the death of 15-year-old tagger Pihema Cameron in January, stabbed by businessman Bruce Emery, 50.
Mr Quax said he couldn't say what effect that case had had on general attitudes towards tagging in the city.
"There's always been a public abhorrence with tagging," he said. "Whether the tragedy that happened at Manurewa has had any impact on that, I can't tell."
However, he believed there was less graffiti in Manukau than there was 18 months ago.
Part of the reason was that the Manukau Beautification Charitable Trust, one of whose tasks is graffiti elimination, was doing an effective job.
As well, residents were contacting the council call centre more quickly to get graffiti painted over.
- NZPA
