Graffiti cost rise prompts action

A plan to tackle graffiti has been welcomed by South Wairarapa District councillors as the cost of removing it quickly rises.

An "alarming" amount of graffiti has prompted the council to put together a working party to create a preventive policy and action plan.

There were 399 graffiti strikes recorded in South Wairarapa from October 2012 to June 2013. This is double the amount of strikes anticipated by the council and it has cost $5655 more than expected to remove graffiti in the area. Costs will keep rising until October, when the contract renews.

City Care is only contracted to the council to remove 192 graffiti strikes and when exceeded, charges the actual cost of removal.

Featherston, which had the majority of the graffiti strikes, is keen to see something done. In its last meeting, the Featherston Community Board endorsed the council's plans, including the Stop Tags system.

The system, designed to create a database of taggers and track them, is being investigated by the council. Contractors would use an iPhone app to photograph and locate graffiti with GPS.

Profiles of taggers can be developed and passed onto police. The information could then be used to convict serial taggers.

Using Stop Tags would cost $150 a month excluding the cost of the iPhones and data charges. The app is only available on iPhone, which the council and City Care currently don't use.

Councillors also moved to adopt the Wellington Regional Graffiti Prevention Strategy 2013-17, as Wellington City Council has done.

Mayor Adrienne Staples said graffiti was a global problem. "We're not alone," she said.

The working party will be made up of two councillors and community members. Councillor Brian Jephson suggested having a college student in the working party.