Crime prevention series

Recommendations

Published in:
Preventing graffiti and vandalism
Susan Geason and Paul Wilson
Canberra : Australian Institute of Criminology, 1990
ISBN 0 642 14936 4 ; ISSN 1031-5330
(Crime prevention series) ; pp. 70-71

A careful examination of strategies and programs tried in a number of countries to reduce vandalism and graffiti reveals a number of general principles:

• Planning and design: Planners, builders and architects can play a vital role in reducing vandalism and graffiti in public housing and public places by designing spaces which are attractive, which foster a sense of ownership in users and which are defensible - that is, which incorporate design factors which minimise the opportunities for vandalism and graffiti.
• Management policies and practices: Management policies which foster a sense of ownership and responsibility in tenants, and management practices such as constant maintenance and quick repairs, sensible tenant allocation, and a fair eviction policy have been shown to reduce vandalism and graffiti in public housing estates.
• Building standards: Faulty design and inappropriate material selection and specification result in building defects, which are widely regarded as one of the major triggers of vandalism. Architects and builders need to be aware of the use to which buildings will be put and ensure materials and fixtures will be strong enough to withstand everyday wear and tear, careless use and even misuse.
• Maintenance and repairs: Damage attracts more damage, so vandalised property should be repaired as quickly as possible, and graffiti should be removed before it attracts imitators.
• Materials: Wherever economically feasible, vandalproof materials should be used. This could include surfaces which resist paint or are easy to clean, unbreakable glass and plastics, and durable fixtures with no removable parts.
• Education programs: Imaginative campaigns in schools can help children realise the consequences of vandalism and graffiti and discourage them from these activities.
• Community responsibility: Promoting a sense of responsibility and ownership in the whole community for those services and facilities which belong to everyone - through programs such as Neighbourhood Watch, School Watch, Rail Watch, etc. - can help reduce intentional damage.
• Alternative activities: Sports, leisure and entertainment programs for children and teenagers can reduce their boredom and sense of alienation and divert them from antisocial activities.
• Legal outlets: Programs which give graffitists the chance to practice their art in an officially sanctioned way - on hoardings donated by developers or on walls set aside for murals, for example - can help reduce illegal spraypainting.
• Attacking the tools: Measures such as developing easy to remove paints and better solvents, requiring retailers to tighten up security on spraypaint displays, retricting the sale of spraypaints to adults, or even banning the sale of spraypaints completely are under consideration in countries where graffiti is a problem.
• Surveillance: Increased surveillance, through professional security patrols or guards - or more expensively via closed circuit television - can be required in heavily vandalised areas where the benefits outweigh the costs.
• Target hardening: Stronger locks and frames on doors, windows storerooms and cupboards in schools can deter some inexperienced and opportunistic thieves, and safes can stop professional burglars.
• Sensible security practices: Much opportunistic burglary, vandalism and arson could be prevented in schools if staff and students were impressed with the need to put valuable equipment away after use, to lock up after themselves, and to remember to turn on electronic security surveillance before they leave the building.
• Information sharing: Comprehensive statistics should be kept on vandalism so the scope of the problem can be understood, and methods of preventing vandalism and graffiti and repairing vandalised property should be shared among victims.