WA schools and local communities enlisted in the fight against graffiti

Police Minister Rob Johnson today launched two initiatives from the newly-reformed State Graffiti Taskforce to battle the scourge of graffiti across Western Australia.

Mr Johnson announced more than $600,000 in graffiti grants to help local governments and community organisations across the State prevent, detect and remove graffiti.

He also launched the Goodbye Graffiti Education Program, which will be rolled out in classrooms across WA to teach children from Kindergarten to Year 10 about the social cost of graffiti vandalism. 

The Minister made the announcements at WA's first Graffiti Forum, where 250 anti-graffiti professionals assembled to learn and demonstrate the most effective ways of targeting graffiti.

Mr Johnson said the community was on the frontline in the fight against graffiti and the State Government was committed to supporting their efforts through the grants program.

"The State Government is serious about tackling graffiti and we have implemented a series of initiatives that will help us reclaim our neighbourhoods, public transport and shopping centres from graffiti vandals," he said.

"Graffiti doesn't just damage public and private property - it damages the community's sense of safety and security."

Grants totalling $397,689 from the State Graffiti Fund were awarded to 20 applicants for a range of graffiti programs. Another 13 grants totalling $211,019 from the Graffiti Hotspot Fund were allocated to programs in areas that had ongoing problems with graffiti vandalism.

The Minister said in addition to the grants, the Goodbye Graffiti Education Program was a vital component of the State Government's Tough on Graffiti strategy. This included initiatives to tackle graffiti vandalism from every angle - prevention, education, removal and community engagement.

Mr Johnson said a pilot of the program involving nine schools was highly successful, with schools noting a visible decrease in graffiti and teachers reporting that students found the topic interesting, giving them a greater understanding of the impact graffiti vandalism had on the community.

"By introducing a program of learning at an early age, there is an opportunity to change graffiti offending behaviour before it becomes habit," he said.

"While education won't stop all potential graffiti vandals, it can influence students to pursue more socially acceptable forms of artistic activity.

"The program encourages positive peer pressure, so that children who might offend are discouraged by the feedback of their friends and peers."

The Minister said following the successful pilot program, all schools across WA would be invited to take part, which he hoped would make a significant dent in the incidence of graffiti in the long term.

For more information about the State Government's initiatives to fight graffiti, visit http://www.goodbyegraffiti.wa.gov.au