All posts in the topic Tagging in Christchurch and can we do about it (Short link)
Summary
- There are 8 posts — by 7 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Linda Jean Kenix at 2007 Jul 08 02:11 UTC
Hi there, last night in broad daylight my new home got completely done over by
a tagger. He did inside and out, even leaving his remains in my pantry. These
scumbags have no place in the community. When it happens to you it really hurts
and therefore I have started a new topic of discussion to see how many other
victims there are out there and how can we deal to them not with them (as that
is the way I feel right now). The police are too busy to call you back (chasing
speeding 80 year olds around obviously. Meanwhile innocent home owners are
becoming targets for low life sub humans who simply wouldn't be missed if a
bullet passed between their eyes. Cheers Craig
HI Craig,
"last night in broad daylight"... that's an opposite, isn't it?
They tagged INSIDE the house? Did they steal anything?
Hate to say it, but perhaps we'll have to put video cameras outside the
house to roam.. For the present moment, that's all we can do (I do have
other ideas, but they'd be over-the-top).
We really have to question, why are the police soooo busy with other things.
Are there dumb laws out there that police are wasting time at... once we
identify why police are so busy, then we can tackle the real problem. Until
that happens, get video cameras, and get a MEAN dog !
To add to the discussion, here is an editorial I wrote to the Press. I don't
know if it has been published but my thoughts are below...
There has been a lot of recent discussion about the rising problem of graffiti
tagging. It is, no doubt, getting worse here in Christchurch. I’ve just done a
long tour of the south island and there is no place on the island that has as
much graffiti tagging as our “garden city.” But, correcting the problem is
simple. The solution is up to you.
I am the “Tagbuster” for Lyttelton and you won’t find one bit of graffiti
tagging here that remains unnoticed for too long. I have a tub of paint in my
car, a few spray cans, and when I see a tag I hop out of my car and paint over
it immediately. It takes about two minutes and it’s gone. Since I am the one
who is painting over this, I can tell you that tagging has plummeted here. This
method is simple and it works. I used to paint over tagging here every few
days, that changed to every few weeks and is now every few months.
If citizens took pride in their surroundings and painted over tags immediately,
it would disappear. In my experience, kids tag walls so that they can show
their friends what they did. If the tag isn’t there the next day it is
absolutely infuriating for them and they come back the very next day with even
more tags. If you clean that up immediately (and, I mean that very same day),
the tagger may come back one more time but, in my experience, they usually give
up after that and move on to a more receptive audience.
I was president of my neighbourhood association in the United States and this
policy virtually stopped all tags within months. It takes a concerted effort
and a willingness to paint over tags the very day you see it. Tagging is not
graffiti art. It is a destruction of property. Any police officer will tell you
that tagging opens the door to all kinds of future crime. It also degrades
property values and pride for ones community. And, in our city, which is so
dependant on tourism, it weakens our economy. It is high time that individuals
take responsibility for their neighbourhoods. Waiting on research and the
possibility of a tagging arrest is a waste of time and energy. Yes, it is good
to catch the offenders – and when found, punishments should be more severe -
but in all the time that people are searching for them, their tag remains on
walls as a testament to their success.
If your community has a tagging problem it is up to you to change it. Stop
waiting on the government or someone else to paint over it. Call Orion
Electricity for a can of paint (they’ll give it to you for free) and paint over
these electricity boxes yourselves. To get rid of tagging, each city block only
needs one dedicated person and tagging would disappear. If the tag is on a
business, tell the owner that s/he should paint over it immediately. Don’t
patronize the business until it is cleaned up. If the tag is on your fence or
wall, then it is absolutely shameful if you don’t cover it up immediately.
Where is the pride in our community? It’s up to all of us to bring it back.
Linda Jean Kenix
Well said, Linda Jean ! I guess this is the equivalent of the broken window syndrome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixing_Broken_Windows). I'm going to be extra vigilant for graffiti from now on ! Cheers, Andrew. Linda Jean wrote: > To add to the discussion, here is an editorial I wrote to the Press. I don't know if it has been published but my thoughts are below... > > There has been a lot of recent discussion about the rising problem of graffiti tagging. It is, no doubt, getting worse here in Christchurch. I’ve just done a long tour of the south island and there is no place on the island that has as much graffiti tagging as our “garden city.” But, correcting the problem is simple. The solution is up to you.
Wow, really well said Craig!
I Sympathize, They have some gump alright. I'm assuming you mean Dusk.
On a similar subject, I'm curious to hear from anybody else who has had
problems with youth vandalizing alleyways. I live next to an alleyway. The
council is supposedly responsible for the up keep, only I have full
responsibility for the fence remaining respectable and in one piece
monetarily. Including my rates, I have spent quite a lot of money personally
fixing the alleyway.
Now I am not happy about this and I'm not the only one. If you share a fence
with the council you can't help but have the pip. It’s like having a bum,
deaf, dumb and mute neighbour who steals your money yearly....really....
I new about this before I bought my house. That's why I can accept it, and
after all I do get a good feeling in helping out and keeping the place
respectable, but how about this!.
Better lighting in alleyways in Harewood/Bishopdale
I understand you can not readily switch sodium lamps without effecting their
life.
What if alternative more efficient lighting could be used (maybe motion
activated LED). I guess the sodium would be 200 - 500watts which is a huge
power bill for ONE light.
How about a community Wi-Fi network (this is a biggy) A neighborhood
security cam hooked into the motion activated lighting system. This is bound
to deter would-be vandals. "This Alleyway is under community surveillance"
John Veitch could be the man to do the math for solar panels and deep cycle
batteries for possible independent power supplies. I enjoy throwing these
ideas about (sorry John), It's better than simply grizzeling and who knows
what may come of it. It would be a relatively simple undertaking to create a
system such as this and the initial outlay would be re cooperated after time
leading to more energy efficient and safer public walkways that we can all
be proud of.
Best Regards
C Martini
any thoughts
Tagging
On 22nd May Linda wrote, "If citizens took pride in their surroundings and
painted over tags immediately,it would disappear."
Thank you for this Linda - you are absolutely right about this quick clean up
method. You are doing a great job as tagbuster for Lyttelton, I didn't see one
'tag' when I was in lyttelton recently.
Christchurch City Council has tried to take this quick clean up method and does
try to remove graffiti as soon as it is reported. People can ring 9418999 or do
an RFS (request for service) by going to the council website at www.ccc.govt.nz
re: "If citizens took pride in their surroundings and painted over tags
immediately,it would disappear."
At the root of the 'problem' of graffiti is a culture. It cannot be painted
over.
A culture poorly understood by administrators, politicians and media
commentators.
The question one needs to ask to have insight into graffiti, is why, what
engenders this response?
Painting it out is, as many will attest, simply preparing a blank canvas for
the next graffiti. It is, as it were, solving a territorial problem for whom
ever wishes to either claim or reclaim that space. Just as advertising
hoardings have a commercial value associated with mind share, so to does
graffiti have a social value. It is an indicator, a signal, and it is yelling
out 'we reject your value system'.
Ratepayers are forking out big time yet we choose to know nothing and there is
the first clue. The community wrongly characterises the problem domain
clouding and obsfucating it with prejudices before principles.
Youth, at least those within the domain of this subject, are alienated from
rule of law. And for that WE as a community have a lot to answer for. We are
collectively, the architects of this prejudice.
It is not a simple matter, and it wont be solved by just this community, for
is the solution space is hampered by an entrenched culture of 'us vs them',
corporate and societal failure to value youth on a global scale, and, at the
risk of alienating every adult reader of this blog... entrenched 'white
privilege.'
That all said, it behooves me to say, just because the problem is bigger than
us.. (the few readers here) and bigger the civic domain of 'canterbury' that is
not an excuse for not have the required conversations.
Make no mistake, that having read on the subject for thirty odd years, the
single biggest impediment to the required biopsychosocial change is to be
found in drug policy.
'bling bling... ' - ring any bells anyone.
Graffiti, like Gangsta Rap is (just another) product of the matrix of drug
policy dysfunction rendered upon all of us... one cannot discuss youth, gang
violence and a myriad of other 'impediments to health promotion' without
meeting a wall of resistance centered around this vexing subject, but until we
are prepared to collectively trumpet at these walls they will not crumble.
I have repeatedly asked Garry Moore to explore this core community issue via
'time to talk', If he (and his replacement) prefer to sit at the head of the
table of 'Healthy Christchurch' and fail to have this conversation, then we
are destined to endlessly paint over the mistakes of the past. The mess, and
its not limited to just graffiti, is occurring on the current administrations
watch.
(note: Garry shut down any discussion centred around alternative solution
options at the forum, stating to the Chair "we don't need to hear from
him!".... Further I was prohibited from asking ANY question at the subsequent
media conference. Ironically it was the PRESS who suggested I 'be there', but
city admin staff tried to have me 'ejected' (on whose bl#@* authority?)
meanwhile tagging remains the evidence of failure. Does this signal the
continuing failure of citizen participation and due process, or is it just more
of that all to familiar expedient agenda based politics? Every Mayor attending
saw this behavour and by their collective silence perpetuate failure.
Reform of our community's duty of care demands appropriate due process, the
required 'all voices at the table'.
While this issue may well be a bridge to far for the so called 'mayors forum',
it is certainly one that should have status in the mayoral debates.
For those who think drug policy is a central government issue, think alcohol
licences, tobacco outlets. Who administers these?
We have to get our collective heads out of our proverbials and ENABLE the
conversations.
Our sister city, Seattle has taken owndership of the issue at a community AND
civic level and real results and meaningful discussions (and due process) are a
result.
If I were Mayor.. I would start by inviting Seattle's retired Chief of Police
Norm Stamper and on e of the lead organisations behind the Seattle Initiative,
the King County Bar Association, out here. I would give the required resources
to the appropriate sister city commitee to lubricate the 'conversation'. I have
already confirmed they would be available. Airfares It would cost about 1% of
what we currently spend on graffiti. Im confident the Canterbury Law Society
would at least host one of them for a dinner. Rotaries may even help. (they
certainly did for my last law men. We did 28 Rotaries in 10 business days)
Their is no lack of will here, just no one piloting the ship and no baseline
resources.
This is where we find the stuff of social capital.
BTW Sally and the tagbuster, I was in Lyttleton recently with my partner, she
commented to me about the aweful tagging prevalent where we walked, the general
condition of the parking area (behind the supermarket) was disgusting. This is
where the farmers market used to be. I now regret not taking a snapshot. Local
businesses may need to take a bit more pride, and sure, the taggers didnt help,
but lets not get to down on them while the general environment looks so third
world.
sig. Blair4Mayor.com
Hi Blair,
I agree that learning from Seattle would be informative for future directions
of ChCh. I also agree that the reasons for graffiti are complex. However, I
restate my point that the very first thing that the community must do is simply
to paint over it (for all the reasons I stated above). Yes, much needs to be
done but while all that is taking place, the graffiti still sits. I believe
(and my experience in three cities proves my point) that you have to show pride
in your own community before teens can get on board. And, I should say, that
after painting over graffiti here, I have received untold comments about how it
has changed how folks feel about Lyttelton. This is a very real benefit...to
everybody who lives here. Teens, adults, the elderly, kids.
Also, the point you made about the parking lot behind Supervalue in Lyttelton.
You are correct that there are tags there...those haven't been cleaned off
because it is largely an abandoned parking lot (at least I never see cars
there). I've put my focus on all of the main traffic areas (Norwich Quay,
London Street, Dublin, Oxford, etc.) I also didn't tend to it because some of
that graffiti was actually planted by previous Wunderbar owners for "mystique."
However, if you noticed it then I'll take another look and see if it is getting
foot traffic.
Linda Jean
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