AJ New Media looking to expand after online graffiti database success (From York Press)

AJ New Media looking to expand after online graffiti database success

12:22pm Wednesday 11th August 2010 in Business news By Julie Hayes, Business editor

A WEB design company that created an online database for the police to track graffiti has its sights on expansion as its technology is rolled out elsewhere.

AJ New Media, based in York, launched the secure online database Taking Action Against Graffiti in York (TAAGY) in 2008 in association with the Safer York Partnership, which includes North Yorkshire Police and City of York Council.

The organisations store information on the location and design of graffiti “tags”, to help police investigations and the quick removal of graffiti. It allows users to upload images, link existing records, search records and displays the graffiti on a map.

Andie Miller, managing director of the company, said the business is looking forward to extending the concept to other authorities after the police’s national trade magazine, Police Review, extolled the virtues of the system on its front page.

The business has already launched Hull Against Graffiti and developed a mobile application for police and local authorities to use from PDAs in Hull.

It is also developing a national graffiti database for the British Transport Police, which could even lead to a Europe-wide roll out, he said.

“It has been picked up now and has snowballed,” he said. “It has the potential to increase the business ten-fold,” he said. “Which would give us the opportunity to open up in a different marketplace and show our other skills, like search engine optimisation (SEO) and email marketing.”

The business also revamped York Racecourse’s website last year, improving its SEO and handling its e-marketing.

The websites traffic has increased from 1,200 site visitors per day to 4,000, and attracted a peak of 25,000 site visitors when Madness played at the racecourse’s Music Showcase weekend on July 23.