A GRAFFITI vandal suspected of attacking up to 20 bus shelters, homes and phone boxes has been caught red-handed.
The 14-year-old was using a marker pen to deface a garage in Penylan, Cardiff, with his personal tag when he was caught.
Now police are calling on Echo readers to help identify other culprits who are causing damage estimated at thousands of pounds each year. Graffiti has been a particular problem in the eastern suburbs of Cardiff where police are putting together a catalogue of so-called “tags”, the personal signatures of graffiti vandals.
This will be used to gather evidence against some of the area’s worst offenders.
Pc Tim Davies said: “Graffiti seems to be the “in” thing at the moment and understandably people are not happy, especially when it is their homes and garages. Graffiti can be very difficult and expensive to remove but it also tends to drag an area down and make people feel unsafe.”
The 14-year-old boy was caught in Trafalgar Road, Penylan, in daylight on Sunday, September 2. A resident asked the offender for his name and address, which was passed on to 101, and then investigated by Pc Davies.
The boy, from Splott, Cardiff, was tracked down and arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
He is thought to be responsible for graffiti in a further 18 locations in Splott, Roath and Penylan, and is on bail while Cardiff council, BT and bus shelter company Adshel provide police with the cost of damage to their property.
Pc Davies, based at Llanedeyrn, added: “Police community support officers have been taking photographs of graffiti in different locations of tags and throw-ups. Tags are personal to one person so if we arrest someone for one particular piece of graffiti we can put more examples to them.”
n Penylan residents are invited to tonight’s Pact meeting at 7pm in Albany Road Baptist Church Hall.
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_headline=graffiti-vandal-caught-daubing-8216-tag-8217-on-garage&method=full&objectid=19785854&siteid=50082-name_page.html
No comments:
Post a Comment