DESPITE the State Government’s recent announcement on taking a hardline approach to graffiti, it continues to occur in and around Nowra.
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On November 8 Premier Nathan Rees announced a number of tough initiatives aimed at tackling the crime, including doubling the penalty and a clean-up order.
Becky Gollings from ABC Illawarra in Nowra said in the last month the building has been subject to three acts of vandalism.
Ms Gollings doesn’t believe offenders would even be aware of the proposed changes to the law and would continue to vandalise property regardless.
“On Tuesday at about 6pm I was sitting in the office and I heard a tap on the window.
“I looked outside through the doubled sided glass and there was a boy, who would have only been about 12, tagging the glass.”
Ms Gollings then ran outside to confront the boy but he was already halfway down the street with a group of friends.
“I yelled out to him and asked what was he doing,” she explained.
“Then I said I was going to call the police and they ran off.”
The boy left two tags on the window, one about half a metre long with a green paint marker and a smaller one written with a black permanent marker.
Ms Gollings was surprised that a person would attempt such a crime in broad daylight with cars and pedestrians constantly passing the area.
“I think the question has to be asked, ‘Where are the parents in all this?’” she said.
“Who is taking responsibility for this kid? Who is raising this child to think that it’s okay to deface private property?”
Ms Gollings said the large graffiti was easy to remove but just weeks prior to the attack a window was smashed, which was far more damaging.
In February this year Shoalhaven City Council recommended a draft Graffiti Management Strategy be developed and submitted for consideration during discussions of the draft 2009/2010 budget.
Currently, council responds to all reported cases of graffiti, which are put on a maintenance list.
If the graffiti is obscene it is prioritised, especially if it is in an area targeted at children, such as a playground.
The State Government’s crackdown on graffiti includes banning the possession by people under 18 of spray cans, a Graffiti Action Day dedicated to a community-based graffiti clean-up, doubling penalties to 12 months in prison and six months for possession of a graffiti implement, clean-up orders for vandals to clean up graffiti instead of paying fines and graffiti hotspot funding.
