Community urged to report graffiti

Kwinana police are calling on the community to be extra eyes on the street when it comes to spotting and reporting graffiti vandalism.

The station is aiming to build its graffiti database in order to have the right information to track offenders and curb the defacing of property in the suburb.

Kwinana Constable Jason Webber said the station would liaise with the WA Graffiti Taskforce throughout the initiative.

"With the change in the policing model, Graffiti Taskforce is trying to introduce the use of the graffiti database more widely with all the local policing teams so that we have intimate knowledge of our local people and hotspots for graffiti," he said.

"A lot of stuff that gets reported to us is on Government or council property, Main Roads, and Water Corporation … but it also appears on private property and it often goes unreported.

"We are hoping to get some more people who are out on their daily walk reporting."

Const. Webber said reporting on the Goodbye Graffiti website was simple, only took a few minutes, and could be vital to catching an offender.

"That way, we can go back and do a search in the database for a specific phrase or words," he said.

"We are looking to get more input into the system so we have more on the database and a bigger scope to then follow up and gather intelligence."

As part of the initiative, Const. Webber said he would be running awareness programs with schools and youth groups to spread the Goodbye Graffiti message.

Graffiti vandalism is classed as criminal damage and offenders can be liable for imprisonment of up to three years and fines of up to $36,000.

Members of the community can claim a monetary reward if their information leads to the arrest or caution of an offender.

Reports can be made anonymously.

For more information or to report, head to www.goodbyegraffiti.wa.gov.au or contact the graffiti hotline on 1800 442 255.