New laws to help rub out graffiti now in force

Tuesday, 11 October 2016
 
Page Content

• Liberal National Government delivers a major election commitment
• Liberal National Government creates stand-alone graffiti vandalism offence
• Maximum penalty is a $24,000 fine and/or two years in prison
• Minimum penalty is a community-based clean-up order
• Offenders could have property like mobile phones and laptops confiscated 

At midnight tonight, the Liberal National Government will have delivered another blow to graffiti vandalism in Western Australian communities with its tough new graffiti laws coming into force.

Deputy Premier and Police Minister Liza Harvey said the Liberal National Government had delivered another major election commitment by creating a stand-alone graffiti offence which carried significant maximum penalties of a $24,000 fine and/or two years behind bars.

"The delivery of this election commitment sends a clear message to the graffiti vandals that they are committing a serious offence and will pay a high price," Ms Harvey said.

The Deputy Premier said the Graffiti Vandalism Bill 2015 would also include:

• mandatory clean-up orders for convicted vandals
• confiscation of property, such as smart phones and laptops, used to record and transmit graffiti vandalism
• strengthened Public Transport Authority (PTA) powers to ban serial offenders from buses, trains and stations
• maintaining local government powers to enter private property to remove graffiti
• an offence for possession of a graffiti tool or implement. 

"These new laws support local councils, business and home owners who deal with the grind of cleaning up graffiti vandalism," she said.

"Now offenders will understand the effort it takes to clean up and have plenty of time to rethink their unacceptable behaviour."

The Deputy Premier said the ability to confiscate recording devices was aimed specifically at removing the graffiti vandal's method to glorify the damage to other people's property.

"Now graffiti vandalism will truly be the most pointless pastime in WA," she said.

Ms Harvey said the laws strengthened what the Liberal National Government was already doing to combat graffiti vandalism, which costs WA about $8 million a year to remove.

Fact File

• Graffiti vandals are currently charged under criminal or property damage
• In 2007-08 there were 16,025 verified graffiti offences, dropping to 2,139 in 2015-16
• The cost of removing graffiti vandalism 2012-13 was $7.99 million and in 2013-14, $7.84 million.  These figures have been collated from Western Power, the PTA, Main Roads, Department of Education and nine metropolitan councils