Offensive Graffiti
Sense over Sectarianism has been working in partnership with the Scottish Government and charity partner Nil by Mouth to address the issue of offensive graffiti.
Rise in Profile of Offensive Graffiti
Over the past 15 months there has been a marked rise in the numbers of reported sectarian and offensive graffiti cases with high visibility, with incidents being reported both online and in local newspapers across the country.
High visibility sites at the sides of busy motorways and motorway on and off ramps have been targeted for example. This is where large amounts of traffic pass by and because they don’t live at that location motorists are less likely to report it.
Glasgow Policy
Glasgow City Council has a very clear policy on both general and offensive graffiti. If general graffiti is reported by GCC staff or by a member of the public the site will be cleaned within 30 days. If it is deemed offensive, then it will be removed within 2 days.
The big issue is that even with a clear policy in place the system is not effective if enough people do not report incidences of graffiti.
National Survey
As part of this piece of work every local authority in Scotland has been written too looking for information about how they record graffiti and what their removal policy is.
A real mixed variety of responses was received with some Local Authorities recording sectarian graffiti and other forms of offensive graffiti and some not. One LA does not record details at all for example. Some LA’s have a removal policy, and some do not.
Aims & Objectives
The aim of this project is to raise awareness about the issue of offensive graffiti, nationwide, and the objective is to share good policy and encourage mass reporting of graffiti incidents to LA’s.
Graffiti of this nature is something that can be tackled but only if LA’s and communities and responsible individuals act. Without action no change will happen.
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