Today's "Courier" has an article about the increasing graffiti problem and assurances I have received from the City Council’s Waste Management Department that further steps were being taken to tackle the issue. Click on the headline above to read the article.Let’s be clear – graffiti is pure vandalism – it damages both public and private property and in the past few weeks it has been the subject of by far the most complaints I have received from constituents in the West End. There have been complaints about graffiti vandalism from right across the West End Ward – from Marketgait in the east to the city boundary in the west – but it’s a city wide issue.
Following a spate of graffiti complaints earlier this week in the West End, the Council’s Cleansing Services Manager advised me:
"At the Community Safety Partnership Operational group meeting on Tuesday I suggested we set up a short term group to look at the issues to determine if there are any further steps we can take to help combat this issue, and this will be taken forward over the coming weeks.
"Discussions have taken place with the Criminal Justice section, and agreement has been reached for community service people to be involved in painting the media cabinets. We anticipate this will start within a month or so. We are also providing graffiti removal packs to community groups to remove low level graffiti."
I welcome this - it will add to the good work in terms of graffiti removal by the Council’s Anti-Graffiti Squad. However, it is vital that all agencies including the Procurator Fiscal’s Service, Children’s Panel and the Courts take the issue very seriously. Following my raising the graffiti issue in the West End with the local Community Planning Partnership for the West End, a local working party to tackle graffiti in the West End, including local resident participation, has been established.
It is in my view – and the view of other councillors – that graffiti is a total menace and it must be proactively tackled and stamped out. I am pleased that agencies are prepared to work together to proactively tackle this vandalism.