Conservatives in Bournemouth have launched another attack on the blight of graffiti which now plagues the town with a scheme aimed at catching the offenders red-handed.

One of the problems with graffiti is that the more you leave it, the more it encourages others, and the more it grows. Despite all their election promises, the Lib Dem Council has cut down on the removal of graffiti over the past two years and unsurprisingly the problem has become a lot worse.

Conservative Councillor David Smith has hit back with a novel way of bringing the offenders to book - he asked Bournemouth Council to launch a scheme that hands out a reward of £100 to anyone who gives information to the police that leads to a graffiti conviction. Cllr Smith, who represents the town centre, said, ' I was sick to death of nothing practical being done by this Council to combat antisocial behaviour. Graffiti is a menace which costs a small fortune to clear up and nobody seemed interested in putting a stop to it in Bournemouth.'

David spoke to quite a few Council staff to find out what was being done about graffiti in Bournemouth. The responses were not encouraging - quotes such as 'The Council has no strategy' or 'There's no joined up approach' or 'Everyone does their own thing' were typical of the replies.

David said, ' My own experiences in Central Ward tell me that there is no planned approach to clearing up graffiti - it tends to get removed depending on who shouts the loudest.' He added, ' That is clearly not satisfactory and I want to do something practical about it - that's where my scheme will really make a difference - there will be a fear of being caught and convicted - that doesn't exist at the moment.'

Conservatives on Bournemouth Council believe that convicted offenders doing community service should be clearing up the mess but there seems to be a reluctance by those in charge, despite all the talk by the government about 'community partnership.' 'The Council needs to work far more closely with the Youth Offending Teams to hold these yobs to account in a useful and practical way' said David.

He continued, 'This beautiful town of ours is being defaced by morons and the Council has not been dealing with the problem. Action is needed now - not more talk and consultation. We already have the powers to sort it out - so I am delighted that we are going to use them at last.'

For further details please contact:-

Cllr John Beesley
Bournemouth Conservatives
on Bournemouth Council

Tel. 01202 762403
Mobile 07860 391219
email john.beesley@bournemouth.gov.uk