Council spends $350,000p.a. to remove Graffiti on certain things within the City alone, that is a minimal cost to what the Businesses within the City are paying. Businesses within the City are paying $1 million plus p.a... $2.7 million dollars p.a. that is what we are told without some major organisations tell us what they pay per year, I think you'll find it would be more up around the $3.5 million pa in cost with graffiti alone. Here is the costs of CCTV in most major cities in Australia Location Annual Cost Ipswich $444 000 Sydney $900 000 Fairfield $340 000 Melbourne $400 000 Adelaide $310 000 Toowoomba $ 85 000 Brisbane $270 000 to me these costs are much more minimal to the $2.7 million that we know of, that is being spent in the City on graffiti alone. With CCTV, you will find that is a deterrent to vandals also help with the convictions to people that are assaulting people in the Streets Nevertheless, the presence of CCTV and its assumed deterrent effect has been found to contribute to a greater sense of safety amongst the community. CCTV appears to provide people with a degree of reassurance—if an area is being monitored by CCTV, then the area is perceived to be somewhat safer. An evaluation of Sydney’s ‘Safe City’ strategy in 2001 found that 85 per cent of people who were aware of the presence of CCTV cameras reported that the cameras made them feel safer. In the western Sydney suburb of Fairfield where CCTV was introduced primarily to address drug-dealing, 61 per cent of those surveyed in a 2001 study reported feeling safer with the cameras operating. Perhaps this helps explain the finding of a July 2005 poll, conducted after the London bombings, that some 87 per cent of respondents supported the use of more security cameras in public places. The 2003 AIC study reports that as at October 2002, Sydney had 48 open-space cameras, Brisbane 44, Perth 105, Melbourne 23, Hobart 7, Adelaide 33 and Canberra 15. Some regional and rural areas also have a similar number of cameras operating. With interest in CCTV showing little sign of waning three years later, the number of cameras in operation has probably now increased. The costs of installing these sort of devices is minimal to the costs that are being paid for the removal of Graffiti alone, with convictions ! CCTV has a multi purpose use to put faces to people doing any form of crime within the CBD at a lesser cost, with convictions. Also if you have a look these people that are being caught for graffiti alone have all been caught by CCTV, with some sort of penalty being put upon them...

New anti graffiti technology graffiti-e-nose which alarms and sends text merssage to security or police mobile phones as soon as the spray can trigger is pushed. See The New Inventors on ABC 12/11/2008 or call 0488255497 for further details

I know it's a problem, but seriously Newc Herald, is there NOTHING else going on in this city? You have had a ridiculous number of stories about graffiti in the last month.

And every day we delay the clean up the more it will cost and more funds will be diverted from worthwhile activities and infrastructure maintenance.

The Artists haven't been able to tag the new buildings at the Wickham end of Honeysuckle. Perhaps the security's too good or its too far to walk from the station.

NEWS FLASH Newcastle city council could soon have a viable solution to the huge Graffiti problem. In a magnificent gesture, evoking memories of other statesman like acts such as Al Gore's Global Warming campaign, the Council could declare all of Newcastle a GRAFFITI FREE ZONE. This would be very cost effective because all of the signs could be combined on the one street sign. We could be a world first to have Nuclear , Alcohol and Graffiti Free Zone Signs placed strategically throughout the city.

Get rid of this crap spray painting walls and trains. Every time i use a public toilet there is some sort of scribble on the wall that i cant even work out what it says. Any1 would post proper text if they wanted someone 2 view or read it. Clearly they don't have a clue. Shut down specialty shops that sell this paint and caps or whatever it is and, or fine them and get rid of them 4 good.