£1000 Reward in Clampdown on Graffiti Vandals

A £1,000 reward is being offered by the four South Yorkshire councils to help track down the worst offending graffiti vandals in the region.

 

Sheffield Council is launching a new partnership with the charity Crimestoppers, South Yorkshire Police and the local authorities across South Yorkshire to wipe out graffiti.

 

Altogether, the four South Yorkshire councils currently spend around £1,000,000 per year in cleaning up graffiti tagging, where young people spray or draw the same slogan repeatedly to the detriment of communities.

 

With your help, these ‘taggers’ can and will be identified and the local environment improved for us all. If you know who is responsible for any graffiti tag or other damage, phone Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 and tell them in confidence. South Yorkshire Police are one of the most successful forces in the country for developing the anonymous Crimestoppers information into positive results.

 

For the first time, members of public can see all the troublesome tags online via the South Yorkshire Police website. 11 of the most prevelant tags are displayed below.

 

Sheffield Council and the Police will be distributing posters showing the most prolific ‘tags’ and asking members of the public, if they recognise one don’t sit back, do something positive and phone Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

 

Councillor Bryan Lodge, the Council’s Cabinet member for Streetscene and Green Spaces commented: "We are determined to clamp down on this vandalism. Between the Council and Sheffield Homes, we spend around £500,000 a year cleaning up this mess - money that could be spent far better on other essential services.

 

"Graffiti is a regular problem that local residents complain to me about as it spoils the local environment for the majority of people in the city. I would encourage anyone who has information about the taggers to pass it on in confidence to Crimestoppers - you may be able to claim up to £1,000 if the tagger is then charged with criminal damage."

 

Ian Froggett, regional co-ordinator for Crimestoppers added: "In our last campaign, taggers had reason to be fearful. Several were arrested and a lot of others gave it up, because they knew that people could ring and claim substantial cash rewards for passing information to us. Everywhere looks better without the damage and it only takes a call to stop it."