Tue, 14 April 2009
A council campaign to wipe out graffiti has led to a dramatic fall in the number of local streets affected by the problem.
The council has promised to reduce graffiti by half and is nearly halfway to its target according to the latest national figures.
Since announcing plans to tackle graffiti in October last year, the council’s graffiti team has reduced the number of local streets blighted by graffiti from 17% to 13%.
Council bosses say the success is due to a combination of careful investment, hard work and the support of local residents who are making it their business to report graffiti.
The number of people reporting graffiti every month has risen by around 75% in 2009 after the council invited local communities to get involved in the campaign.
Council Leader, Cllr Peter Thompson said:
“It’s really great to see more and more local people are taking responsibility for this problem by picking up the phone and reporting graffiti.
“We’ve invested an extra £280,000 to help us wipe out graffiti across the borough and there are now twice as many removal teams out on the streets.
“We’re delighted that the hard work of our staff and the support of local people is starting to make a real difference
“But we’re not complacent, there’s a lot of work to do just to keep on top of the graffiti problem. If people keep reporting graffiti then we’ll keep removing it as quickly as we can.
“We want people to be proud of where they live, and not just accept graffiti as something they have to put up with.
“Working together to wipe out graffiti is one way we can all do our bit to build pride borough wide.”
The council is now promising to double its efforts in the war on graffiti with the help of an eye-catching campaign designed to increase reporting and reduce the number of incidents of graffiti vandalism across the borough.
The latest phase of the drive to wipe out graffiti will be marked by the launch of new poster campaign carrying pictures of a local teenage girl daubed in graffiti with the slogan “Sick of graffiti? We’ve got the cure”.
The aim of the poster is to encourage more people to report graffiti to the council and to encourage people to consider the personal impact that graffiti has on people living in areas blighted by communities.
The posters will be on display on sites around the borough from Tuesday 21st April and throughout May.
Anyone who wants to report graffiti can do so online by visiting www.hounslow.gov.uk/graffiti or emailing streetcare@hounslow.gov.uk
You can also contact the council’s call centre on 020 8583 5555.
As well as doubling the amount of graffiti it removes, the council will also be working with the local Police Intelligence Unit to identify the culprits and bring them to justice.
In addition, it will be working with the Police and the Probation Service to send teams of offenders to clean up graffiti as part of the Community Payback scheme.