Police take photos of tags for graffiti gallery (From York Press)

Police take photos of tags for graffiti gallery

10:17am Saturday 27th September 2008 in News

A GALLERY of graffiti tags in York is being created by police in a bid to catch the culprits who cost York taxpayers thousands of pounds a year.

The Safer Neighbourhoods policing team for Haxby and Wiggington has been taking snapshots of scribblings blighting the area and will add the images to an innovative web-based system to track down the vandals.

Graffiti is estimated to cost City of York Council £75,000 a year as employees clean up the unsightly mess across the city. The problem is escalating as increasingly more “tags” – the identitication marks of the offenders – appear in different wards.

Taking Action Against Graffiti in York (TAAGY) works via a website holding a secure online database.

The system distributes details provided by organisations like the council, such as the location and design of graffiti “tags”, direct to police investigators to identify trouble spots, helping prosecute more offenders and aiding in the quick removal of graffiti.

It is hoped the action will help improve the quality of life for those living in the villages.

Sgt Donna Musgrove, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “Using the newly developed TAAGY database, the team will be recording details of graffiti in the hope that we can catch those who are responsible.”

Safer York Partnership has invested in the development of the web system which will enable them to uncover links between tags appearing at various locations and help identify those responsible. Amy Fenwick, antisocial behaviour co-ordinator for Safer York Partnership and project manager for TAAGY, said: “TAAGY provides us with a useful tool to help us in the fight against graffiti. Research shows us that where vandalism and damage are obvious, other anti-social behaviour and crime will follow. It is therefore crucial we record the tags when they appear and then work together with the council and the community to get them removed as quickly as possible.

“All Safer Neighbourhood teams, as well as departments within our partner organisations, will be trained to use TAAGY so that we can capture the crucial evidence that can help us secure a conviction.”

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