Community the key to fighting tagging

A vigilant community is the key to combating tagging in Lower Hutt, says Hutt City Council’s graffiti eradication coordinator Delly Ranginui.

“The council and police can’t do it alone. We need the community to report tagging when they see it. The problem at the moment is people think someone else will report it but this is often not the case. Until we know it is there, we can’t take steps to remove it.”

Tagging has been identified as a major concern for residents in a survey carried out by Council, which spends $300,000 to $500,000 a year removing tags in the City.

Reporting tagging as soon as it appears is the best way to prevent it happening again, says Mr Ranginui.

“This will enable us to remove it quickly and discourage the taggers from returning by denying them the exposure which they are seeking.

”Local business owner Paul * has used council’s graffiti vandalism removal service to have tagging removed from his premises and was impressed with the service.

“If you leave tagging without doing anything about it, it becomes a magnet for more tagging.

“I called council to remove the tagging and the job was done quickly. I would recommend any service such as this that gets rid of tagging and nips it in the bud."

To report tagging contact the council on 570 666. If you see someone in the act of tagging contact police as soon as possible on 111. Do not approach the taggers.

* Last name withheld