Vandalism - graffiti - reporting and removal

Provision of a facility whereby members of the public can report graffiti to the council. The council will arrange for the removal of the graffiti in a timescale determined by the content with the highest priority likely to be given to graffiti which is racist or offensive in some other way.

Graffiti is an offence under the Criminal Damage Act 1971. Where the value of criminal damage is more than £5, 000 the maximum penalty for those aged 18 or older is ten years imprisonment whilst for juveniles aged 12-17, the maximum custodial penalty is a detention and training order of up to 24 months.

In cases where the damage is less than £5, 000 the maximum sentence is three months imprisonment or a fine of £2, 500 for adult offenders. There is no custodial provision available for juveniles, however, there are a range of Community Sentences available to the court such as Reparation Orders and the Final Warning Scheme.

Much of the responsibility for dealing with incidents of graffiti rests with the police and they do devote considerable resources and effort to catching the individuals who commit these offences. More and more forces are placing increased emphasis on dealing with quality of life offences. This includes the delegation of responsibility to basic command units, the use of high-visibility community policing, multi-agency schemes and the use of intensive enforcement operations. Throughout the country, police forces have undertaken initiatives specifically to tackle crimes such as vandalism, often using intelligence-based methods such as crime pattern analysis and the targeting of offenders.

The Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003 has introduced the power for local authorities to deal with graffiti (and fly posting) through fixed penalty notices. The Environmental Crime Unit will be using all the powers at it’s disposal to tackle this particular issue. A key aim will be to gain access to ‘tagging’ databases, which provide information of offenders, both known and unknown who sign their particular mark. Co-ordination with other local authorities is essential to building data on these tags to assist neighbouring Councils can identify those responsible.

What We Do

We will remove racist or offensive graffiti, from Council-owned property such as street nameplates, benches etc., within 24 hours of it being reported to us. This is undertaken by Cleansing and Waste Services.

For graffiti on housing estates, please contact the Estate Manager.

The Environmental Crime Unit will record graffiti incidents and liase with the Police to take action against those who are found to be responsible for graffiti.

What we would like from you

The exact location of the graffiti, and any information that will help us identify what street furniture (bollards and lampposts are numbered) is affected.

Report Graffiti.

Eligibility
None.

Required Customer Information
None.

Service Level Agreement and Turnaround
The initial investigation will be completed within 10 days after which time the complainant will be advised whether or not further action will be taken or the incident closed.

Racist/offensive graffiti will be removed within 24 hours of it being reported

More information about this service

Contact Us

Frequently asked questions

Address:
Environmental Crime Unit
7 Melling Drive
Enfield
EN1 4BR.
Map

Telephone:
020 8379 2147.

Fax:
020 8379 2190.

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday
9.00am - 5.00pm

Useful Links

Report Graffiti Online.