Victoria’s measures against graffiti

A new measure to prevent graffiti has started to become popular among Victoria’s Mayor, it consists of street art or murals specifically painted in hotspots where taggers used to commit offences.

This measure prevents the councils from spending more resources on graffiti removal because it protects local buildings. Another alternative to this is applying protective coatings, so when you are a victim of taggers or offensive graffiti, you will be able to easily remove the attack.

According to the latest statistics from the police, Kingston Council reported 190 graffiti offences in a period of one year from July 2016 to July 2017 which was the highest number across all local governments. Kingston was closely followed by Melbourne City Council with 183 offences, and in the third place Frankston with 169.

Deputy Mayor of Kingston City, Rosemary West were part of a committee to allow a murals nearby the Cheltenham Railway Station. This place used to be a hotspot for taggers but it has been unaltered in the last five years. She considers this measure is successful because there is honour among street artists which prevents them to graffiti over the mural.

Darebin Council also employed the same action, Mayor Kim Le Cerf said that the budget for anti-graffiti murals was doubled to $50,000 and it has saved six times that amount in return. They are planning on investing more money and have 10 new murals across Darebin in the next year, especially in areas where graffiti removal had to be done multiple times every year. According to Le Cerf, investing in street art means that the artwork is respected and stops new graffiti and tagging.

Every year, millions of taxpayer cash are spent removing graffiti from suburban areas in Victoria, Melbourne City Council spends more than $800,000 each year. The city of Yarra also spends around $800,000 and Wyndham $600,000.

That is why it becomes crucial to prevent graffiti because one attracts more and more taggers, and solutions such as street art and preventing coatings can be considered in order to avoid new offences that cost millions to the government to maintain public spaces with a safe and good look.