Councils step up war on taggers

Auckland councils want extra legal powers to stop graffiti - including the right to ban the sale of spray paint cans to anyone aged under 18.

The councils are looking to Parliament for a law change to help them fight the problem, which now costs ratepayers $6 million a year.

Councils say they are fed up with an unrelenting daily wave of vandalism by youngsters who are tagging public and private property with spray paint cans and marker pens.

They are also struggling to cope with the latest destructive fad that is pushing clean-up bills to new highs - the gouging of tags in the glass of shop windows and bus shelters.

Paint attacks on cars and boats signal another new and expensive dimension to the tagging curse.

The Manukau City Council wants to introduce a local bill to Parliament in order to give it powers that cannot be provided through its own bylaws.

Police Minister George Hawkins, who is also MP for Manurewa, has agreed to champion the bill through the formal process in the new year.

Manukau has received backing for the bill from Waitakere City and senior officials are recommending their councils follow suit.

Forming a regional approach to taking on the taggers is essential for successfully fighting graffiti, said Manukau City Image planner Yu Yi.

"This is because a person may not be able to buy a spray paint in Manukau but could get it from Papakura or Onehunga, which is within easy driving distance. This million-dollar problem could gradually shift to the surrounding areas if there is not similar control in these areas."

For now, councils are working towards sharing information and resources.

A bright hope for councils is adopting the Auckland City Council's computer data base of graffiti tags and taggers. Council graffiti protection officer Rob Shields said pictures of tags were coming in from graffiti removal contractors and 300 keen volunteers in the suburbs.

The council used the data base of taggers' calling cards to investigate complaints and to offer the police a strong case for prosecution.

Mr Shields said working in partnership with the police had resulted in two consistent taggers being ordered to repay damages of $5165 and $12,500 respectively.

Waitakere Police community relations leader Sergeant Brian Louden said the Waitakere council's data base of tags was useful to police.

Schools, which were badly hit by taggers, were also sources for police investigations.

"We are serious about graffiti because we see it's the first step on a path to crime such as arson or standover street robbery," he said.

"So, if we stomp on it early, we can turn a couple of kids around."

But Waitakere City councillor and graffiti campaigner Derek Battersby said the city's graffiti problem had eased but was not under control. About 20 per cent of each night's tagging was unable to be cleaned up in a day's work by the city's Tag Out Trust, he said. The regional clean up bill was about $6 million a year.

Manukau Beautification Trust alone removes 17,000 tags a month and sometimes 500 to 600 tags daily and uses $20,000 of paint a month.

Removing tags quickly is most effective, said trust chairman the Rev Mark Beale. "The tag's power is being there - taggers try to create fame by having their tag displayed."

Graffiti crimes

The proposed bill is likely to:

Ban the sale of graffiti tools, for example, spray paint cans to those under 18.

Make graffiti an offence with stiff penalties.

Give councils more power to adopt successful overseas measures.