KEY POINTS:
People have had enough of graffiti vandals, a judge told a repeat tagger as he sent him to jail for 10 months.
Daniel Horne, 22, was sentenced in the Whangarei District Court on charges related to a graffiti spree that targeted Kaitaia and the Whangarei police station.
Whangarei's top policeman, Inspector Paul Dimery, said it was "really heartening for police to see the judiciary penalising people for an offence that creates not only the damage but the fear of crime in our communities".
Graffiti was a symptom of other problems and led to a sense of fear in communities that should not be there, he said. "This is not a victimless crime."
Horne had earlier pleaded guilty to six charges of intentional damage and one each of resisting police, possessing a spray can, being unlawfully on a property, defacing a prison cell and assaulting a female.
Judge Duncan Harvey said that about 11.20pm on September 8, police found Horne on the back porch of the council building in Kaitaia.
He had pink and gold spray cans and police later discovered tagging around Kaitaia in those colours.
His explanation was that he was bored, Judge Harvey said.
Judge Harvey said Horne had a long list of previous convictions, including many for graffiti and four for violence.
"There's a need to hold you accountable and to deter others from similar offending," the judge said.
New legislation introduced in June created specific offences for graffiti, tagging and defacing.
- NORTHERN ADVOCATE
