GRAFFITI ‘artists’ responsible for daubing unsightly tags around the town are being dealt with in a joint approach by Barnsley Council and South Yorkshire Police.
Following a council-led campaign to reduce graffiti in prominent locations in the town centre, about a dozen suspects have been identified and fixed-penalty notices have been handed out already.
According to the council, one other suspect will be questioned further by police a development that’s been hailed as a step in the right direction by Paul Brannan, head of safer neighbourhood services at the council.
“The team’s done a great job removing a lot of graffiti at sites across Barnsley,” he said. “We’ve also had an excellent response from residents, who have given information to us which has helped our investigation.
“That shows the town’s residents back what we’re trying to achieve it’s not art and it’s unsightly on our town that’s undergoing a lot of improvement and investment.”
Motifs depicting downbeat faces, along with ‘OSA’ and ‘SPOOK’ tags, had appeared at several locations across the town in the spring which prompted the council to begin its investigation. The painted face, which was daubed on lamp posts, buildings and internet and telephone cabins, is thought to have been done by members of the One Step Ahead crew, while Spook is reportedly a single person’s work.
“The ‘One Step Ahead’ name does what it says on the tin,” Paul added.
“They believed they were one step ahead of us and the police, but hopefully we’re now one step ahead of them.
“It’s important not to be complacent about graffiti, though, as we’re fully aware that a spate of vandalism could appear overnight and then we’re back to where we were. We’ll be continuing our fight against it and by prosecuting or fining those responsible, hopefully this will make them think twice about what they’re doing.”
Utility boxes, seen as easy targets, continue to be targeted, although the council which is offering a £250 reward for information about graffiti says new cases on tags on buildings are on the decline.
Coun Jenny Platts, cabinet spokesman, said: “As part of our #EverybodyThink campaign to protect the environment and tackle environmental crime, we’re trying to find those responsible for unsightly graffiti. We’ve made good use of social media to share graffiti and appeal for information that can lead to a prosecution. Of the two suspects identified through our recent campaign, one has been issued with a £100 fixed-penalty notice and the other will be questioned further by police.
“Thanks to everyone who has already contacted us to report graffiti they’ve spotted we’re averaging about 23 reports per month across the borough (not incidents).
“We encourage anyone with information to email safer@barnsley.gov.uk.”
