Graffiti

Whether it’s a great piece of art or an unreadable scribble, graffiti is unfortunately a form of criminal damage because it’s always made on a surface without the consent of the owner.

Even if it looks amazing to you and me, it’s damage that can be costly and upsetting to the owner and a headache that costs councils £1 billion a year to remove.

Graffiti can also have a negative impact on the area in which you live. Tagging in particular (a form of graffiti where someone stamps their stylized signature on a piece of property to claim it as their own) can send out negative messages about crime and gang activity, and make others nervous when walking the streets.

Laws around graffiti

Laws on graffiti are now very strict and anyone caught doing graffiti can be arrested and prosecuted under the Criminal Damage Act 1971. Offenders can be fined up to £5,000 if the damage caused is less than £5,000, or they may be given a community service order. The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 introduced even more powers for local councils to punish offenders, including on-the-spot fines.

Good graffiti

Of course, if you’re serious about graffiti as an art form, there are more positive ways to take your interest further without destroying the environment in which you live.

Find out if your local council has a space where you can legally graffiti. These are called 'free walls' where artists are allowed to graffiti.

Learn more about graffiti as art not vandalism at www.ukgraffiti.com

Check out www.youngscotwow.org to see if there any graffiti workshops in your area

But remember you can get the graffiti that gets you down cleaned up! Contact your local council (they are responsible for removing them from public buildings) or if it’s telephone boxes, bus shelters and electricity boxes then they are responsibility of the company that has placed them there.