A piece of graffiti that covered this tennis rebound wall in Cranbourne North last August. It was removed within a day by City of Casey Council officers.
By Sarah Schwager
THE City of Casey has again trumped itself as one of the leading councils in the state successfully fighting graffiti.
The council has endorsed a Graffiti Prevention Exposure Draft Bill recently released by the State Minister for Police and Emergency Services.
The draft bill would establish specific criminal offences for marking graffiti, provide search and seizure powers for police and provide powers for authorised persons to enter private property to remove publicly visible graffiti.
There is no guarantee that the draft bill will be adopted.
Casey has long been known for its hard stance on graffiti prevention and removal in the municipality.
At last week’s council meeting, councillor Wayne Smith said fantastic recognition was being given to the work the council had done in relation to graffiti and hoped the State Government would take notice.
“Our success cannot be doubted,” Cr Smith said. “But we shouldn’t be doing it alone, we should be involving all municipalities.”
Council officers concluded that a broad range of benefits existed for Casey with the introduction of graffiti prevention legislation, including a consistent statewide approach to graffiti prevention and removal.
The most contentious issue on graffiti removal raised in the council recently could also be overcome.
If the draft bill was introduced, the council could put increased pressure on the State Government to adopt a policy of removing graffiti from state assets, including rail corridors.
Councillor Michael Farley raised some concern about people’s civil liberties being taken away if their properties could be searched without a warrant but other councillors said it was the only way to curb the problem.
