KEY POINTS:
Criminal offenders in work gangs began cleaning graffiti along railway tracks in West Auckland yesterday in a pilot project that could be extended to other parts of Auckland's 90km of suburban rail routes blighted by tags, litter and weeds.
The "beautification" trial on a 3km stretch at Henderson was the brainchild of the Corrections Department and involved 14 men ordered by the court to serve reparation sentences of 100 hours' community work.
The men were convicted of charges ranging from tagging to motor offences and not paying traffic fines.
"There is a couple of taggers in there - not only do they have to cover their own tags, but also they feel peer pressure from those working alongside who are not into tagging," said Corrections' Waitakere service manager, Karl Bethell.
"Some of the older guys have houses which get tagged, and they don't like it."
The offenders have to complete their community work within six months.
Eight hours of work on a Sunday, under the steely gaze of Corrections supervisors, may seem to be doing it the hard way.
But Mr Bethell said some offenders could not attend work sessions on Saturday because they had jobs, and doing the work on Sunday fitted in with Ontrack's safety concerns because the lines were carrying fewer trains.
He said the offenders in the work gangs were expected to turn up. "We have about 80 per cent compliance".
If they missed a day, they were required to prove they had a good excuse, such as a family bereavement or being in hospital.
Two misses and they got a hand-delivered warning letter from Corrections; after a third miss, they were summonsed to court.
The Ministry of Justice crime prevention unit and Auckland's seven councils were helping to pay for the clean-up trial.
Mr Bethell said the trial was an "exciting move"which gave the men a chance to work in the railway environment and learn useful skills.
A safety plan for the workers was developed by Ontrack, which has long been criticised for the mess of graffiti and rubbish along its rail corridors.
It provided equipment, and gave rail safety training for supervisors.
Waitakere City Council is providing free rubbish removal and landscaping advice for the stretch, from Mt Lebanon Lane to the Bruce McLaren Rd crossing.
Councillor Derek Battersby, chairman of the Tag Out Trust, said the area "often bears the brunt of the spray can".
He hoped the work might instil civic pride in those who damage public property.
Mr Battersby said Waitakere spent $1 million a year on cleaning up graffiti, and he estimated the regional clean-up bill, including private property owners' spending, was $6 million to $7 million.
Tag Out sponsored equipment and artwork for a junction box along the route, and Resene gave recycled paint.
Last year, Auckland's councils started a joint venture with the police, called the Graffiti Free Project.
This is providing money for the Henderson trial in the hope it will be extended over a wider area.
The state of the rail corridor through Manukau City has been of such a concern to the council there that it is putting more than $200,000 a year into a contract with the Manukau Beautification Charitable Trust.
This year, the trust began a five-year project to clear graffiti, rubbish and scrub and then plant native plants along 11km of railway line from Wiri to Otahuhu.
Trust chairman the Rev Mark Beale said the Waitakere trial was a good thing.
His trust had shown, in a trial at its own expense, that it was possible to keep the rail corridor clean.
The trust had paid a crew of six to work on the corridor.
* The cost
Waitakere spends $1 million a year on cleaning up graffiti.
Manukau spends $1.2 million.
The regional clean-up bill is estimated at between $6 million and $7 million.
