An east Auckland man is facing charges after allegedly vandalising his local community with graffiti.
As the Times reported in early April, police appealed to the public for information on the identities of two people who defaced numerous commercial and residential areas in Howick.
Howick Police community services supervisor, sergeant Brett Meale, said there had been a spike in graffiti vandalism in Howick and Botany that involves an offender using spray paint, permanent marker or white-out pen to “tag” buildings, structures and signs.
The first such incident happened in the early hours of February 9 and saw the culprit graffiti on numerous locations in Picton Street and Cook Street, Howick.
“The main street here and even the Cook Street art gallery were tagged extensively,” Meale said at the time.
“Countdown was tagged on as were numerous buildings, rubbish bins and signs. All tagged in one night.”
When the Times spoke to Meale on March 18 he said he’d just spotted even more tagging in Howick village.
“It just happened on the weekend. At the corner of Picton Street and Selwyn Road, if you look up where Basalt is, the level above at the awning, someone’s got up there and tagged right along there.”
Following the Times publishing a story on the graffiti vandalism, a member of the public contacted police with information as to who may be responsible for it.
“We executed a search warrant last week and as a result of that he’ll be before the courts facing nine charges of wilful damage through the Howick area,” Meale says.
“He’s a 25-year-old from Howick and he’s appearing next week in Manukau District Court.
“This hopefully sends a strong message to those who are tagging around the area that it’s not a minimal crime and we will investigate it and hold people to account for it.
“Hopefully it deters others.”
Meale previously said he appreciates the work of the Beautification Trust, which removes graffiti vandalism from across Auckland.
“With the tagging in Picton Street we contacted them and within a couple of hours they were here and painted all the stuff out.
“It was amazing and they provide a great service.
“For any people who notice tagging, the best way to address it is to paint it out straight away, so it’s not there for someone else to come and put their tag, like a competition.
“If people see it in a public place please report it and the Beautification Trust will come out, or on residential areas sometimes, such as fences, and they’ll do those as well.
“We urge business owners or members of the public who have been unfortunate enough to have their property tagged to take a photo of it and then, if able, clean it off or paint over it as soon as possible.”
Report graffiti vandalism to the Beautification Trust online at www.beautification.org.nz or phone 0800 363 824.
