Graffiti Prevention Education Program

Teaching and learning activities Objective The learning activities in this unit introduce students to the penalties and consequences of graffiti. Through their research, students become more aware of the laws regarding graffiti in Australian states and territories. They review graffiti as a personal, social and global problem.

The activities provide students with information to develop their:

• awareness of graffiti as a crime

• understanding of why penalties are imposed on offenders

• knowledge of the impact of graffiti on individuals, communities and the global environment.

Activity description Students review and analyse legal processes associated with the crime of graffiti. Through research and analysis of laws, case histories and other sources, students develop personal perspectives on punishment options for graffiti offenders.

Inquiry question

• Are you a victim of graffiti?

Guiding questions

1. How will the study allow students to reflect on their own values, beliefs and opinions on the topic?

2. Are there places where connections can be made to larger social or environmental issues?

3. Are there opportunities for students to enact a solution or action plan about the issue?

This teaching strategy has been designed from the 5Es inquiry framework. The following resources provide more information about the framework.

• E5 instructional model education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/support/pages/e5.aspx

• Enhancing education: The 5Es enhancinged.wgbh.org/research/eeeee.html

• Introduction to inquiry based learning by Neil Stephenson teachinquiry.com/index/Introduction.html

Graffiti justice: Years 9–10

cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 1

Graffiti Prevention Education Program

Background information Graffiti What is graffiti?

Graffiti is the unauthorised act of marking other people’s property without their permission. It is illegal, ugly and expensive to remove. Graffiti affects us all. It can lower property values, make people feel unsafe, reduce business patronage and encourage other types of crime.

Graffiti is a crime Graffiti is illegal in Australia. It is a persistent problem that attracts a variety of penalties. In Queensland, graffiti is a crime under the Queensland Criminal Code Act 1899 s. 469 Wilful damage, which states:

Any person who wilfully and unlawfully destroys or damages any property is guilty of an offence…

If the property in question is in a public place, or is visible from a public place, and the destruction or damage is caused by (a) spraying, writing, drawing, marking or otherwise applying paint or another marking substance; or (b) scratching or etching; the offender commits a crime and is liable to imprisonment for 7 years…

The court may… order the offender to perform community service… including for example, removing graffiti from property; and … may order the offender to pay compensation to any person.

Consequences

Graffiti offences are treated seriously by police, all levels of government and the justice system. Juvenile offenders (aged 12–17 years) may be sentenced to a term in a detention centre, given a graffiti removal order or given a period of probation (Note: a person aged 17 or over is tried as an adult). Regardless of the penalty imposed by a court, a graffiti offender may be ordered to remove the graffiti and/or pay compensation to the owner of the property that was vandalised.

Where does graffiti occur?

Most graffiti occurs on exposed walls and fences and is usually in the form of messages in letters or images written in spray paint, permanent marker or etched into a surface with a sharp instrument. Graffiti vandals have no respect for private or community property and no regard for the negative impacts of their actions. Their aim is usually to impress their peers and strengthen their reputations by putting their graffiti tags in as many places as possible.

Graffiti removal

Graffiti that is left intact attracts more graffiti. The longer it remains, the greater the gratification for perpetrators. It also suggests that the community does not care or is unable to deal with the problem.

cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 2

Graffiti Prevention Education Program

Keeping neighbourhoods graffiti free reinforces pride in the city and helps to maintain feelings of safety and wellbeing for everyone in the community. The best way to reduce graffiti is to remove it as quickly as possible. Local governments, businesses, organisations and volunteers commit money and resources to graffiti removal and participate in various graffiti prevention strategies.

City of Gold Coast graffiti prevention program

The City of Gold Coast (the City) spends approximately $1.3 million every year on graffiti removal and manages a range of graffiti prevention strategies. The Graffiti Removal Team respond to an average of 10,000 graffiti removal requests each year, removing graffiti from public assets and some private property. They also provide free graffiti removal kits and support volunteer graffiti removal programs.

The City’s graffiti prevention program includes:

• education within schools about graffiti and its consequences

• identifying graffiti hotspots and installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to catch graffiti offenders

• encouraging property owners to design and recreate spaces that are less attractive to graffiti vandals (CPTED)

• working with retailers of paint products

• facilitating public art graffiti prevention projects

• supporting community service graffiti removal programs

• working with Police and other agencies on crime prevention programs.

You can report graffiti for removal by using the City of Gold Coast mobile app, calling the Graffiti Hotline on 07 5581 7998 or emailing: graffiti@goldcoast.qld.gov.au.

Reporting graffiti offenders to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Policelink on 131 444 is also encouraged.

cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 3

Graffiti Prevention Education Program

Teaching strategy Engage 1. Brain storm

Write the question ‘Are you a victim of graffiti?’ on the board/IWB.

2. As a class, students should consider and discuss the question ‘Are you a victim of graffiti?’

3. Ask students to list where they see graffiti. For example, toilets, pavements, walls.

4. Divide the class into smaller groups of four and ask students to develop a response to the question for each of the following levels:

• personal level

• social level

• global level.

In particular, they should consider:

• what crimes are committed against the individual

• what constitutes a crime against society

• what crimes are committed on a global scale.

Have each group report back their proposals and have students justify why they believe that these crimes affect their lives in some way.

Explore 5. Video

As a class, view the YouTube video clip La Joya youth center vandalized by graffiti youtube.com/watch?v=yRWR70TQpjY.

This is a media report from the USA about a community centre that was vandalised by graffiti.

• Ask students to silently decide what level of crime has been committed: personal, social or global.

• Ask students to silently think about why they think so.

• Ask a few class members to share their thoughts.

Many may consider this as a social crime, which it is, but it is also a crime on the individual —workers may lose their employment because of the centre’s closure. Graffiti in general is a global crime and is an endemic problem in many countries.

• Have students consider the penalty that was imposed on the two female offenders for the crime. Do they feel it was sufficient, given the intent and damage?

cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 4

Graffiti Prevention Education Program

6. Penalties Provide students with the Graffiti factsheet included below, which gives information about graffiti. It also touches on the penalties for graffiti which may include:

• fines

• community service — scrubbing walls and cleaning up graffiti

• detention.

7. Ask students to define the following categories of penalty.

• What is a ‘fine’?

• What is ‘community service’?

• What is ‘detention’?

Are there any other categories of penalties?

8. Ask students to identify the consequences of these penalties. For example, the consequence of getting a fine is that it must be paid.

• How can a young person pay a fine?

• If a child under 18 is fined, their parents are responsible for the debt. What happens if the fine was $24,000 (the maximum penalty for this offence) or the cost of removing the graffiti was over $30,000? What would be the impact on the family?

9. Research activity Have students research the penalties imposed on graffiti offenders by different states and territories in Australia by completing the Student activity worksheet 1: Graffiti justice.

Explain 10. Scenarios

Direct students to Student activity worksheet 2: Graffiti justice, which describes different scenarios of graffiti offences. Ask students their opinion on what is a suitable punishment for the offence (all offences are by young offenders under the age of 17).

11. Personal perspective Students then develop personal perspectives on selected aspects of graffiti sentencing. For example, what justice format is likely to have greater impact in reducing graffiti: youth justice conferencing or more traditional sentencing options (fines, graffiti clean-up, paying for damages)?

cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 5

Graffiti Prevention Education Program

Elaborate 12. Mock trial

Divide the class into two groups. These groups will constitute two opposing teams for a mock trial. The trial will be for the following scenario:

A graffiti offender has been caught and charged with the crime of willful damage of buildings in the local primary school. The offender used spray paint to paint graffiti tags and obscene words on three buildings in the school, including the early childhood centre. The offender is 18 years of age. Police caught the offender with three other males; however, he was the only one who was charged, as he was in possession of graffiti tools and equipment. The police report that the offender has a previous record for the same offence.

13. Ask the class to elect a student to be the judge/magistrate and three students to be the jury. Set up the room as per a courtroom.

14. The ‘prosecution’ team should elect three lawyers who will present the case for the prosecution in three parts. The other members of the team will be team researchers, witnesses and police. The ‘defense’ team will mirror the ‘prosecution’ team, but will also include a student role-playing the offender.

15. Each team will prepare their case and present it as per the agreed procedures of the courtroom. Witnesses can give evidence and be questioned. The jury will pronounce the offender as ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ depending on the evidence presented. The judge/magistrate will sentence the offender.

16. You may like to video the mock court to document the proceedings. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each team’s arguments and the quality of research and evidence provided during the trial.

Evaluate 17. News report

Have students develop a news report about the trial as if they were a court reporter for a local newspaper. The report should be no more than 200 words and include a catchy title, a description of what happened and why, who was involved, quotes from interviewees who attended the trial, a victim impact statement and a comment from the police.

cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 6

Graffiti Prevention Education Program

Australian Curriculum links Learning areas Strand Content descriptions

Civics and citizenship

Citizenship, diversity and identity

Year 9 How ideas about and experiences of Australian identity are influenced by global connectedness and mobility (ACHCK081)

Year 10

The challenges to and ways of sustaining a resilient democracy and cohesive society (ACHCK094)

Cross-curriculum link: The Arts — Visual Arts

Cross-curriculum priorities

Sustainability Futures OI.9 Sustainable futures result from actions designed to preserve and/or restore the quality and uniqueness of environments.

General capabilities Element Sub-element

Literacy Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing

Interpret and analyse learning area texts

Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating

Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

Use language to interact with others

Grammar knowledge Express opinion and point of view

Word knowledge Understand learning area vocabulary

Information Communication Technology (ICT) capability

Investigating with ICT

Define and plan information searches

Locate, generate and access data and information

Select and evaluate data and information

Creating with ICT Generate ideas, plans and processes

Generate solutions to challenges and learning area tasks

Critical and creative thinking

Inquiring — identifying, exploring, organising information and ideas

Pose questions

Identify and clarify information and ideas

Generating ideas, possibilities and actions

Imagine possibilities and connect ideas

Reflecting on thinking and processes

Transfer knowledge into new contexts

Ethical understanding Exploring values, rights and responsibilities

Examine values

Explore rights and responsibilities

Consider points of view Source: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), downloaded from the Australian Curriculum website in March 2014. CC-BY-SA

cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 7

Graffiti Prevention Education Program

Resources • Graffiti Prevention Education Program PowerPoint — Secondary

• Queensland Police: Crime prevention through environmental design — Part A: Essential features of safer places police.qld.gov.au/programs/cscp/safetyPublic

• Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA): Graphic organisers education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/support/pages/graphicorganisers.aspx

• Glogster edu.glogster.com

• Prezi prezi.com

City of Gold Coast graffiti prevention resources

• Graffiti prevention information cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti

• Video clip: Graffiti — Let’s stay on top of it cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti

• Graffiti prevention education resources, colouring sheet, find-a-word puzzle cityofgoldcoast.com.au/education

• Graffiti — Let’s stay on top of it: A factsheet for the Queensland Police Service goldcoast.qld.gov.au/documents/bf/graffiti-fact-sheet-reporting.pdf

Community resources

• Gold Coast Community Guide goldcoastcity.com.au/communityguide

• City of Gold Coast: Community safety cityofgoldcoast.com.au/communitysafety

Additional resources

• Australian Institute of Criminology: Key issues in graffiti aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/rip/1-10/06.html

• Graffiti hurts: Graffiti prevention: Best practices for communities graffitihurts.org

• National Crime Prevention Framework police.qld.gov.au/programs/cscp

cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 8

Graffiti Prevention Education Program

• Queensland Government: Types of crime – Graffiti qld.gov.au/law/crime-and-police/types-of-crime/graffiti/

• Lawstuff: Graffiti (South Australia) lawstuff.org.au/sa_law/topics/Graffiti

• NSW Lawlink: Graffiti vandalism http://www.crimeprevention.nsw.gov.au/cpd/protectcommunity/graffitivandalism.html

• Victoria Legal Aid: Graffiti laws legalaid.vic.gov.au/find-legal-answers/criminal-offences/graffiti-laws

• ABC Gold Coast: Graffiti attracts graffiti abc.net.au/local/photos/2011/10/27/3349879.htm

Video clips

• La Joya Youth Center vandalized by graffiti (2 mins) youtube.com/watch?v=yRWR70TQpjY

• 7News: War on graffiti (5 mins) youtube.com/watch?v=BNdJeYJC13Q

• Today Tonight: Brisbane graffiti vandals (10 mins) youtube.com/watch?v=l6PLvW5o7Xo

• Graffiti or art? Justin Bieber sprays Gold Coast hotel (2 mins) youtube.com/watch?v=L2l66QK3_X8

• Australian graffiti documentary (60 mins) youtube.com/watch?v=UovsPn4Dvg0 (URLs active as of January 2014)

cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 9

Graffiti Prevention Education Program

What is graffiti? Graffiti is the unauthorised act of marking other people’s property without their permission. It is illegal, ugly and expensive to remove. Graffiti affects us all, it can lower property values, make people feel unsafe, reduce business patronage and encourage other types of crime.

Where does graffiti occur? Most graffiti occurs on exposed walls and fences and is usually in the form of messages in letters or images, written in spray paint, permanent marker or etched into a surface with a sharp instrument. Graffiti vandals have no respect for private or community property and no regard for the negative impacts of their actions. Their aim is usually to impress their peers and strengthen their reputations, by putting their graffiti tags in as many places as possible.

Graffiti is a crime Graffiti is illegal in Australia. It is a persistent problem that attracts a variety of penalties. In Queensland, graffiti is a crime under the Queensland Criminal Code Act 1899 s469 “Wilful Damage” Any person who wilfully and unlawfully destroys or damages any property is guilty of an offence.

(1) If the property in question is in a public place, or is visible from a public place, and the destruction or damage is caused by (a) spraying, writing, drawing, marking or otherwise applying paint or another marking substance; or (b) scratching or etching; the offender commits a crime and is liable to imprisonment for 7 years. (3) The court may order the offender to perform community service, including for example, removing graffiti from property; and/or may order the offender to pay compensation to any person.

Consequences Graffiti offences are treated seriously by Police, all levels of government and the justice system. Juvenile offenders (aged 12-17 years) may be sentenced to a term in a detention centre, given a graffiti removal order or given a period of probation (note: a person aged 17 or over is tried as an adult). Regardless of the penalty imposed by a court, a graffiti offender may be ordered to remove the graffiti and/or pay compensation to the owner of the property that was vandalised.

In Queensland graffiti is a crime under the Queensland Criminal Code Act 1899 s469 “Wilful Damage”

cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 10

Graffiti Prevention Education Program

Graffiti removal Graffiti that is left intact attracts more graffiti. The longer it remains the greater the gratification for perpetrators. It also suggests that the community does not care or is unable to deal with the problem. Keeping neighbourhoods graffiti free reinforces pride in the city and helps to maintain feelings of safety and well-being for everyone in the community. The best way to reduce graffiti is to remove it as quickly as possible. Local governments, businesses, organisations and volunteers commit money and resources to graffiti removal and participate in various graffiti prevention strategies.

© Copyright, Council of the City of Gold Coast (Council) 2001-2014 Photographer: Sam Lindsay

City of Gold Coast graffiti prevention program The City of Gold Coast (the City) spends approximately $1.3 million every year on graffiti removal and manages a range of graffiti prevention strategies. Our Graffiti Removal Team responds to an average of 10,000 graffiti removal requests each year, removing graffiti from public assets and some private property. We also provide free graffiti removal kits and supports volunteer graffiti removal programs.

The City’s graffiti prevention program includes:

• education within schools about graffiti and its consequences

• identifying graffiti hotspots and installing close-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to catch graffiti offenders

• encouraging property owners to design and create spaces that are less attractive to graffiti vandals (CPTED)

• working with retailers of paint products

• facilitating public art graffiti prevention projects

• supporting community service graffiti removal programs

• working with police and other agencies on crime prevention programs.

You can report graffiti for removal: A City of Gold Coast mobile app P 07 5581 7998 (Graffiti Hotline) E graffiti@goldcoast.qld.gov.au

Reporting graffiti offenders to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Policelink on 131 444 is also encouraged.

Graffiti Prevention Mural by Libby Harward © Copyright, Council of the City of Gold Coast (Council) 2001-2014 Photographer: Sam Lindsay

cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 11

Graffiti Prevention Education Program

Student activity sheet 1: Graffiti justice Research the penalties for graffiti in the different Australian states and territories.

Penalties — States/Territories

Wilful damage of property/graffiti Possession of implements to commit graffiti

QLD

NSW

ACT

VIC

TAS

SA

WA

NT

Document the current consequences for convicted graffiti offenders in your state. Include information on the sentencing criteria (e.g. does the age of the offender or the nature of the graffiti affect the punishment). Include an appropriately referenced source for the information.

Details Criteria Source

Fines

Custodial sentences

Youth justice conferencing

Other financial penalties

Community service

Other consequences

cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 12

Graffiti Prevention Education Program

Student activity sheet 2: Graffiti justice

What do you think is an appropriate punishment for the graffiti offences described below? Justify your answer.

Case Answer

A 15-year-old girl was caught tagging in the toilet of a shopping centre. She tagged three doors and one mirror. There was no other evidence of her tagging in the centre and no record of the tag she was using elsewhere in the neighbourhood.

Two boys, aged 15 and 16, did a large ‘throw-up’ graffiti piece on the side of a delivery van. The van was parked in a locked yard and the boys had to scale a fence to get into the yard. As a result of the graffiti, the van had to be repainted and all the signage was replaced, which cost the company $3000.

A 16-year-old boy was caught on camera using a marker and a knife to draw and scratch his tag throughout the whole carriage of a train. Police later found over 250 photos on his computer and phone showing similar graffiti tags on trains, buses and signs across the region.

cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 13