Campaign to report graffiti?

[mrmartin]

I was wondering what people thought about this idea?

I was thinking that us as rail "enthusiasts" could start using BTPs report a crime function on their website to report all graffiti on trains we see?

I'm extremely unhappy with the spread of it on the network and I suspect a core part of this is that BTP have seemingly deprioritised enforcement.

"only" 3,000 incidents were reported across the UK to BTP in 21/22 (I can't find stats after that and their crime data map is down for maintenance), so if a few of us were to report it every time we saw new instances of it, it would likely have a huge impact on the crime figures and definitely give BTP some pressure to do something about it, or potentially justify further funding/resources.

We could follow this up with letters to politicians and the media later on if people desired (I have a lot of PR experience myself and quite a few contacts in the media - I'm sure others do too). I suspect it would not be difficult with not a lot of effort to get a quite substantial increase in resources allocated to this (assuming as I suspect there is nearly no resource directly allocated to this), but if we can make the data more accurate of what is really going on it makes a much better story.

Let me know what people think.

 

[Horizon22]

Reporting it is all well and good but as you say enforcement is another issue.

There is only so many resources and no matter how many reports there are, there is unlikely to be the resolution you and many others seek. There are more pressing priorities in my opinion such as supporting revenue protection, safety and security of staff, incidences of anti-social behaviour and also live incidents (trespass being a key one). Unfortunately something has to give if the budget allocations change.

 

[mrmartin]

Reporting it is all well and good but as you say enforcement is another issue.

There is only so many resources and no matter how many reports there are, there is unlikely to be the resolution you and many others seek. There are more pressing priorities in my opinion such as supporting revenue protection, safety and security of staff, incidences of anti-social behaviour and also live incidents (trespass being a key one). Unfortunately something has to give if the budget allocations change.

Well I'd say graffiti does fit into a lot of your priorities there - a large amount of trespass incidents will be graffiti related and it is a genuine safety concern imo given the spread of acid attacks. Not to mention the millions of pounds it costs to repair - almost certainly dwarfing what BTP could be reasonably expected to "make" the railway in revenue enforcement activities.

Don't think it has to be taking budget out of one place either. There's ways to get new money allocated with a well thought through campaign.

 

[Horizon22]

Well I'd say graffiti does fit into a lot of your priorities there - a large amount of trespass incidents will be graffiti related and it is a genuine safety concern imo given the spread of acid attacks. Not to mention the millions of pounds it costs to repair - almost certainly dwarfing what BTP could be reasonably expected to "make" the railway in revenue enforcement activities.

Don't think it has to be taking budget out of one place either. There's ways to get new money allocated with a well thought through campaign.

Yes graffiti and trespass are linked but very few live and disruptive trespass incidents are graffiti artists - most are involved in other crime (off-railway criminals fleeing or theft) or are having a mental health crisis normally. Also you can’t correlate acid attacks on people with those who use them as tools in their “craft”.

I agree it should be cut down but I fear you are a little naive in your determination to “get new money allocated”. There are definitely more pressing concerns.

 

[150219]

I was wondering what people thought about this idea? I'm not sure if this is the right forum.

I was thinking that us as rail "enthusiasts" could start using BTPs report a crime function on their website to report all graffiti on trains we see?

I'm extremely unhappy with the spread of it on the network and I suspect a core part of this is that BTP have seemingly deprioritised enforcement.

"only" 3,000 incidents were reported across the UK to BTP in 21/22 (I can't find stats after that and their crime data map is down for maintenance), so if a few of us were to report it every time we saw new instances of it, it would likely have a huge impact on the crime figures and definitely give BTP some pressure to do something about it, or potentially justify further funding/resources.

We could follow this up with letters to politicians and the media later on if people desired (I have a lot of PR experience myself and quite a few contacts in the media - I'm sure others do too). I suspect it would not be difficult with not a lot of effort to get a quite substantial increase in resources allocated to this (assuming as I suspect there is nearly no resource directly allocated to this), but if we can make the data more accurate of what is really going on it makes a much better story.

Let me know what people think.

Some of the more detailed information that follows on from such a report will not be available, e.g., date and time of occurrence. This is helpful for intel building.

Increasing the amounts of reports may not yield the results you may hope for.

Depending on the amount of graffiti painted onto trains and certainly the exterior counts here, it is already reported to the BTP by us (i.e., the operator). Does it reduce it? Not in itself no, but it can help to build a picture if you include details such as where and when it occurred. Trends can then be followed and that's where resources may be targeted.

 

[Chriso]

I have seen online YouTube videos with many of the tags causing chaos on the Bakerloo and Central lines at the moment who dont seem to give a toss about the BTP and possible punishments

 

[baz962]

As a train driver I have never once seen anyone actually doing graffiti , despite seeing loads out the cab window. I reckon it would be a huge uphill task for the BTP sadly.

 

[dubscottie]

I was wondering what people thought about this idea?

I was thinking that us as rail "enthusiasts" could start using BTPs report a crime function on their website to report all graffiti on trains we see?

I'm extremely unhappy with the spread of it on the network and I suspect a core part of this is that BTP have seemingly deprioritised enforcement.

"only" 3,000 incidents were reported across the UK to BTP in 21/22 (I can't find stats after that and their crime data map is down for maintenance), so if a few of us were to report it every time we saw new instances of it, it would likely have a huge impact on the crime figures and definitely give BTP some pressure to do something about it, or potentially justify further funding/resources.

We could follow this up with letters to politicians and the media later on if people desired (I have a lot of PR experience myself and quite a few contacts in the media - I'm sure others do too). I suspect it would not be difficult with not a lot of effort to get a quite substantial increase in resources allocated to this (assuming as I suspect there is nearly no resource directly allocated to this), but if we can make the data more accurate of what is really going on it makes a much better story.

Let me know what people think.

Good idea.
First hand knowledge from Ireland, some of these people are travelling around Europe hitting cities and moving onto the next.
They will cover an entire coach in 2 or 3 minutes.
3 individuals from Spain were caught in Fairview Dart depot about 10 years back if I remember correctly.
No bail and ultimately a 2 year sentence.
Info from Ireland helped to further convict them in Spain as they used the same tags.
€10,000 is the ball park figure for graffiti damage in Ireland, per carriage.