New database will help to tag graffiti vandals

Police will find it easier to link taggers to graffiti around the Auckland region by using a new database which comes into operation today.

The database combines information from the eight Auckland councils and identifies troublespots.

Council representatives will meet today to discuss the concept - part of the three-year wider Auckland Region Graffiti Free project.

Project co-ordinator Stewart Andrews says the councils will be given hand-held "personal digital assistant"computers (PDAs) to use when called to a tag scene. They will take a photo of the tag, and the device, which has GPS capability, will record the location. Details will feed into the database.

Twenty police analysts around the region will be able to examine the information through their own computers.

"Once they've apprehended somebody, say they were caught tagging 'A, B C', they would then either come to us, or to one of their analysts, to see if 'A, B, C' occurs in the database," Mr Andrews said.

"It's really about collecting evidence of crimes that have been committed.

"If someone is caught for a particular tag, which is like their signature, then the whole idea is that they would be held accountable not for just that one tag but maybe the 53 others that are already in the database. People want these vandals to be held accountable."

Mr Andrews said most councils had their own databases, but there was no way of linking the information.

The previous data would now be collated and entered into the new database.

"You might have a number of [taggers] sitting at the 10, 11 or 12 mark, so that data is flagged," Mr Andrews said.

"But they might be doing that in every single territory and turn out to be the worst offender of the lot across the region."

Mr Andrews said the Auckland Region Graffiti Free project would test the database for a month.

"It's a matter of ironing out some of the issues with the use of the PDAs, making sure the councils adjust and know how to use it, making sure we get a consistency of data collection and making sure it's robust enough ... all software takes a little bit of time to trial and get it right."

He said the database was "nicely lined up" with the merging of all eight Auckland councils next October, when the Auckland Region Graffiti Free project comes to an end.

It was set up by the police and Auckland councils and has funding from the Ministry of Justice crime prevention unit.

Mr Stewart said there were "three Es" in dealing with graffiti - eradication, enforcement and education.