Kingston's graffiti investigation
The graffiti and tagging desecration in the Kingborough community vandalises most walls, fences, poles, businesses, infrastructure, cars and even the artwork on signal boxes.
Nothing seems to be out of bounds to deface.
Graffiti can look spectacular like the artwork in the alleyways in Melbourne and the famous work by Banksy, which is worth millions of dollars.
The main difference between graffiti writing and street art is intention.
Graffiti writers are not interested in the general public understanding their artwork, they are primarily concerned with other graffiti writers who can decipher the coded tags and appreciate the style and notoriety of the writing.
The graffiti writing in Kingborough is ugly and unappealing.
The Mayor of Kingborough, Cr Dean Winter said “I am concerned about the amount of graffiti currently on display across Kingborough.
“In response to this, we have set up a working group to help property owners develop ways to tackle graffiti.
“We have identified high profile sites and will be supporting owners to remove graffiti and provide advice on how to use design features to discourage this type of vandalism”.
After recent shopping centre incidents, specifically with the home delivery vehicles for Woolworths at Kingston Town, a spokesperson for the store said “While we find reports like this are very rare, we treat any deliberate vandalism seriously.
“We’ve referred the matter to local police and are assisting their investigation”.
Channel Court Shopping Centre has also experienced graffiti attacks recently on the walls of the shopping precinct, and a spokesperson for Channel Court said, “The vandalism is definitely taking up valuable time, money and resources, however we do work closely with Tasmania Police when this occurs and try to minimise damage where possible with security etc”.
The Kingborough Council removes graffiti that appears on council-owned infrastructure as soon as it becomes aware of it.
“This is an important response to deter offenders.
“Most of the graffiti, however, is on privately-owned property and it is the owner’s responsibility to remove it”, said Mayor, Cr Dean Winter.
Sergeant Nigel Ransley from Tasmania Police said, “Kingston Police have developed an interest in one individual regarding certain acts of specific graffiti in the area.
“That investigation is ongoing.
“However, we certainly don't believe one or two individuals are responsible for all of the graffiti in Kingston and surrounds”.
If any members of the public, see anyone marking graffiti they are asked to contact police immediately.
The Department of State Growth removed graffiti from the Kingston Bypass recently.
The Kingborough Mayor Cr, Dean Winter said that “The working group will also work in partnership with community groups to design and create murals in places where graffiti and tagging are increasing.
“Council works closely with Kingston Police and we will be reporting repeated tags that may point to who the offender is.”
There are new Graffiti and Aerosol Paint Laws, which can be found on the Tasmania Police website.
If found guilty under the new laws, offenders can be fined, or given a community service order, or receive both.
Adding to the cost to of ratepayers as well there have been cars burnt out on the side of the road at the Huon Highway, Sandfly and the roundabout at the Fork in the Road.
A car was left at the John Street, Huon Highway roundabout in Kingston and vandalised.
Abandoned or burnt out vehicles need to be reported to Tasmania Police for investigation.
Once this investigation is complete, the council is contacted to remove the vehicle, which is a cost to ratepayers.
Costs for the removal, storage, disposal or selling of abandoned vehicles is in excess of $150 per vehicle.
Kingston Police said that they are aware of those incidents and they are the subject of an ongoing investigation.
Pictured: The graffiti in the Kingborough area defaces many buildings and walls, a costly exercise for businesses and ratepayers to clean up.
