Graffiti campaign

Edward Davey discussing graffiti problem with police

A new Bill making its way through Parliament takes up ideas promoted by me and by my colleague, Jenny Tonge (MP for Richmond Park) It would make it "an offence to supply, in the course of a business, aerosol paints or indelible marker pens to any person apparently under the age of 18".

Jenny Tonge previously had a Ten Minute Rule Bill proposing to ban the sale of spray paint cans to minors and this new Bill clearly borrows from her work.

More information about the Bill

Reporting graffiti

You can now report graffiti to Kingston Council online through the Kingston Borough Liberal Democrats website.

Previous action in Westminster on graffiti

Last year I supported an Early Day Motion proposed by Jenny Tonge, MP for Richmond Park, as follows:

That this House deplores the widespread problem of graffiti throughout our towns and cities in the United Kingdom; and calls upon the Government to make the sale of aerosol paints to minors a criminal offence.

Government would not act

Astonishingly, the Government was not prepared to issue guidance to spray paint manufacturers and retailers as this extract from Hansard shows:

Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review his decision not to issue guidance to paint spray manufacturers and retailers concerning age limits on the sale of their products.

Mr. Charles Clarke: No. The Government believe that tackling graffiti is best achieved by dealing with offenders rather than penalising retailers for selling a product that they may, in all honesty, believe is being purchased for legitimate reasons. There are no statutory age limits for the purchase of these products and it is not therefore appropriate to issue guidance to retailers.

Making the punishment fit the crime

A rash of graffiti has struck all parts of Kingston in the last few years.

At the moment, the courts do not have the appropriate sentences to tackle these types of youth crime. There's little or nothing between a cautioning and a prison sentence.

Magistrates should be able to require vandals to clean up their graffiti.

New punishments planned

I have asked questions in the Commons about trials of a new court sentence which will force offenders to clean up graffiti. I have also obtained briefings from the House of Commons on the subject.

I am also supporting the Liberal Democrat councillors in Kingston who are urging the Council to introduce Agreed Behaviour Contracts.

Other measures

Yet I thinks graffiti is such a difficult but pressing problem, other measures are needed.

• We need to invest in our youth service to give young people alternatives.
• We need to ensure graffiti is cleaned off faster.
• Sales of spray cans to youngsters and the security of cans in shops must be tightened.