Police and council join forces to tackle vandalism in Chippenham (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)
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Police and council join forces to tackle vandalism in Chippenham
12:40pm Friday 22nd March 2013 in News
Chris Read of Chippenham Town Council, John Berkley of Wiltshire Council, PCSO Michelle Nears and Coun Peter Hutton watch Chris Bodman and Wayne Lewkowicz of Wiltshire Council cleaning tags outside Digi Print in New Road Chippenham
Police and council workers are fighting back against a bout of graffiti in Chippenham by blasting tags off walls.
Walls, fences, bridges and road signs around Sheldon Road, Lords Mead and Bristol Road next to the football club have been targeted. A chewing gum removal machine has also been put to use.
Adrian Jones, head of service delivery at Chippenham Town Council, said: “We will not tolerate this illegal activity, it is unsightly. Our policy is to remove it within 24 hours.
“We have had it before on the railway arches, a grade II listed structure, and we worked with Network Rail to remove that. It is an eyesore and it is becoming more prevalent.”
A spray art wall was launched in November 2011 below the Gladstone Road bridge to allow street artists a place they can legally tag.
Inspector Phil Stayning said: “We tried to reduce it by distracting the focus to where they can do it lawfully.”
But Wiltshire councillor Peter Hutton said it remains a problem and the community safety group are also working with the Partnership for Schools.
Mr Hutton said: “By pulling resources together we can not only demonstrate that we can tackle this issue but highlight to the small minority of offenders that it is not acceptable behaviour.”
Criminal damage and arson in Chippenham has reduced by 27 per cent, with 131 fewer incidents in the year ending March 15.
Comments(18)
notscot
says...
6:19am Sat 23 Mar 13
scubi wrote:Why in heck's name haven't the council and the police been banging on your door.
“We will not tolerate this illegal activity, it is unsightly. Our policy is to remove it within 24 hours."
That will teach them....not!
How about putting a bit more effort into finding the culprits, finning them and then making them scrub it off. You could also ban them from possessing the paint cans for a few year until they grow out of it.
Just a though.
The man who knows, yes?
Where they'll hit - what time they'll hit - No?
No you don't.
Think they roam around in massive gangs?!
Come on. Tell the county - where will the next tag appear? If it's that easy.
Write to the new p & cc - perhaps he'll provide you with a copper on every corner - 24/7.
Or perhaps you could get in touch with the council and the local police - and find out for yourself just how "easy" it isn't. And just how much time and effort it takes.
It's a huge bugbear for residents when thes ugly tags appear on their homes/property - the council and the police DO put in shedloads of time investigating. And occasionally they find culprits.
Ban them from buying the paints? Had you not noticed - "Not to u-18's/21's has been in operation for a long time. And local resolution involving the cleaning of the graffiti by those responsible was in operation about 5 years ago. The council carry out the cleaning now and those responsible get involed in other reparation work.
Can't have the little darlings seen in public cleaning up their own mess, can we??
Roy-Orbit of Chippenham
says...
11:48am Sat 23 Mar 13
I can see no easy solution or even any solution. My Columbo-like mind has failed to come up with a plan to stop them.
Perhaps if the police wrote on the walls first. "all taggers are gay" that may disuade a few.
scubi
says...
12:53pm Sat 23 Mar 13
notscot
says...
2:39pm Sat 23 Mar 13
scubi wrote:"How about putting a bit more effort into finding the culprits" - shows you have NO idea how much effort goes into investigations.
Lots of presumptions on your part there notscot, so try reading my post again. I never said ban them from buying, I never said they were all young and I certainly never said I knew where every attack would take place. I would point you to plenty of websites that indicate good ways you can reduce this problem or even point you to places where you can get information, but I will give you, the police and the council the option of looking them up yourselves just so you can get used to the idea. but I agree there is no cure all and it isn't easy. But just removing the graffiti just provides a place for them to do it again (now theres a hint!)
"finning them and then making them scrub it off" - you have to catch them first and it's more likely to be resolution than fines.
There is NO WAY the little darlings would be forced to remove their tags anymore.
"But just removing the graffiti just provides a place for them to do it again (now theres a hint!)" - what are you implying?? You get some sort of idea that they only return to the same places? That every tag is surrounded by hundreds of others?
Like I said - go talk to your local police and the council.
Then you'll know what you're talking about.
As for banning them from possessing cans of spray paint for a few years - nice thought - but it won't happen.
Have a look at some of the tags around your town. Some of them only appear once or twice - but the same tags may appear in towns across the country. Some tags are in dozens of places in the same town - some only found in cities - some only in difficult to reach places. No easy way to combat this.
scubi
says...
4:39pm Sat 23 Mar 13
Did you bother going on the internet to have a look (google is your friend you know)?
I tell you what, lets just carry on scrubbing the stuff off at tax payers expense and let them get away with it the majority of the time (which is probably why the problem is getting worse). So what ever is being done (which I see very little evidence of) is obviously not good enough. That's me done, cheers.
notscot
says...
5:14pm Sat 23 Mar 13
scubi wrote:I misquoted you by using your own words? Really?
There you go misquoting me and putting words in my mouth again. You're quite good at that aren't you. Is it just to get a rise or are you a troll?
Did you bother going on the internet to have a look (google is your friend you know)?
I tell you what, lets just carry on scrubbing the stuff off at tax payers expense and let them get away with it the majority of the time (which is probably why the problem is getting worse). So what ever is being done (which I see very little evidence of) is obviously not good enough. That's me done, cheers.
There options available if a "tagger" (BTW - most of them are VERY young.) is caught are limited - like it or not.
Yes - it would be great to make them pay for the cleaning - fine them on top and ban them from buying/using spray paint.
I keep trying to tell you - IT ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN.
Our current legal system will allow you only ONE bite of the cherry.
So as not to criminalise those involved local resolution will be pushed at them - HARD. So - YES - they will appear to have got away with it - they WON'T pay a penny toward the removal of the paint and they are HIGHLY UNLIKELY to learn any "lessons".
That's the way the legal system wants it run, courtesy of successive govt.'s, I'm afraid.
You see very little evidence of anything being done? That's because you don't want to. It's easier to whine than get off your backside and find out, isn't it?
Alot of people are working hard to try to remove/lessen/educat
e - with their hands tied by Govt. edicts.
jw9202
says...
9:15am Sun 24 Mar 13
notscot
says...
10:57am Sun 24 Mar 13
jw9202 wrote:Like it or not - people have a right to their opinions.
@Scubi, don't waste your energy on "notscot" he did exactly the same to me a while back, he's got to be right & anyone else's opinions don't count & when that doesn't work he launch into a personal attack even though he has no idea who he's dealing with, so best thing is to ignore him & that way he'll go away.
People disagree with me - they have the right to say so - and I have the right to disagree with others. When people say things I know to be incorrect - I'll say so. When I get it wrong - others are just as quick to point out my errors.
What's wrong with that?
I'd suggest that those who are so sensitive they can't face disagreement - or like to insult others without comeback - find another venue to air their views.
"How about putting a bit more effort into finding the culprits" was written.
I pointed out just how much effort was being put in and it didn't go down too well. Hard luck.
scubi
says...
1:41pm Sun 24 Mar 13
notscot
says...
3:21pm Sun 24 Mar 13
scubi wrote:er - "That's me done, cheers." Obviously not - and as accurate as the rest of the tripe you posted!
Thats ok jw9202, I am quite tough skinned and notscot doesn't bother me in the least. In fact I feel sorry for people like him, they must have such low self esteem that they have to knock and misrepresent everything anybody says to try to make themselves look right. Even trying to pretend they have some sort of knowledge on the subject, when it is obvious that they have non at all. Actually he reminds me of that old monty python argument sketch (if you are old enough to remember them)..he does make me chuckle. People must laugh at him all the time :o)
scubi
says...
7:52pm Sun 24 Mar 13
I thought I would respond to you on this occasion however, as it is my right to do so but I bet you won't be able to stop yourself responding to this with a version of your own tripe as you are one of those sad types who always has to have the last word aren't you.
Go on, prove me wrong!
notscot
says...
8:25pm Sun 24 Mar 13
scubi
says...
8:32pm Sun 24 Mar 13
If real fishing was this easy nobody would bother.
ROFL.
Lots of love Scubi.
Out :o)
Harold Shand
says...
9:37pm Sun 24 Mar 13
notscot
says...
10:21pm Sun 24 Mar 13
Harold Shand wrote:Oh, absolutely, shand.
scubi, don't forget that notscot isn't actually a cowardly little worm but is actually the cleverest person on the entire web.
Would you like a tissue? You're nose appears a tad stained.
notscot
says...
10:21pm Sun 24 Mar 13
scubi wrote:Really? Oh Gosh! x
Game set and match to me I think.
If real fishing was this easy nobody would bother.
ROFL.
Lots of love Scubi.
Out :o)
notscot
says...
10:22pm Sun 24 Mar 13
scubi says...
4:34pm Fri 22 Mar 13
That will teach them....not!
How about putting a bit more effort into finding the culprits, finning them and then making them scrub it off. You could also ban them from possessing the paint cans for a few year until they grow out of it.
Just a though.