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Graffiti

Graffiti

The term graffiti refers to drawings, patterns, scribbles, messages or tags that are painted written, carved or scratched on any public or private property. The most common form of graffiti in the UK is 'tagging'

Some people associate graffiti with vandalism and the destruction of property. Others see graffiti as art.

Graffiti or Art ?

The difference between art and graffiti is that art is done on property with the permission of the property owner. Art is a creative and productive form of expression.  Graffiti is a crime.

Graffiti is writing, drawing, or symbols applied to any surface without the permission of the property owner.

To create graffiti, vandals use a variety of materials, such as spray paint, crayons/pens and permanent ink. Etching surfaces is another way vandals deface property.

Graffiti can occur anywhere, however, some of the more popular targets include:


    • public and private buildings
    • recreational facilities
    • Post-boxes
    • playground equipment
    • bridges and underpasses
    • public transport property and vehicles.

Graffiti is an act of vandalism that places a significant burden on the Local Authorities budget.  Graffiti may also cause local property values to decrease and can result in a heightened fear of crime in the community. The estimated costs to the taxpayer for removal of graffiti is in the region of 1 billion per year (Encams 2004)

What can we do?

From 6 April 2010 All graffiti reports are investigated and cleared on both public and private property. Our graffiti procedure for Colchester sets out our new policy and can be found pdf icon here. [760kb]

Colchester Borough will be split into zones in order to ensure a consistent clean up takes place across the whole borough

 Photographs will be taken of any "tag" discovered. This is then passed to Essex Police and entered onto a database which is then used to ascertain the details of anyone suspected of engaging in this activity. Colchester Borough Council also have graffiti partnerships in place with several organizations (BT, Royal Mail, Anglian Water etc) which ensures that any relevantly owned highways furniture defaced by graffiti are cleaned.

 Click here to report an instance of graffiti in your neighbourhood.

  • Contact us at customerservicecentre@ colchester.gov.uk or by calling 01206 282700 if you have been the victim of graffiti and would like us to investigate and arrange for removal
  • The street care team work in partnership with a number of utility companies to identify and address instances of graffiti on their property.

What can you do?

If you see any property defaced by graffiti please contact us on 01206 282700 or email us at customerservicecentre@colchester.gov.uk

If you witness graffiti taking place, please report this directly to Essex police on 01206 210441