Anti-Social Behaviour
Graffiti and vandalism on and around public transport
This document is published for archival/historical reasons. It will not be updated.
Graffiti and vandalism strongly affect people's perceptions of crime and personal security, giving the impression an area is unmanaged and out of control. This report, from the Department of Transport, looks at the how the public transport sector is affected by graffiti and vandalism and the costs that are incurred.
Title: Graffiti and vandalism on and around public transport
Author: Department of Transport
Number of pages: 17
Date Published: October 2003
Impact on crime and fear of crime
Graffiti and vandalism impact community fears of crime and crime itself. The 'broken windows' theory, developed in the United States, proposes that if a broken window is left and not repaired, other windows will soon be broken. The message this gives to both offenders and residents is that no one cares. Consequently offenders are not deterred from committing similar acts again, and a perceived rise in crime becomes a reality.
The nature and scale of the problem
Vandalism spans a wide berth of activity including, for example:
scribbling on a wall
daubing political slogans
smashing bus shelters windows
endangering life placing concrete posts in paths of oncoming trains.
Criminal damage represents 24% of all recorded crime. Between 2001/02 and 2002/03 in England and Wales, there was a 4% fall in reported criminal damage, to 1.109 million offences. This summarised:
Arson 5%
Vehicle damage 39%
Criminal damage to dwelling 27%
Criminal damage to other buildings and other targets (telephone boxes etc.) 29%
The total costs of such incidents was estimated at £4.1 billion in 1999 / 2000 in England and Wales, costing the public sector £2.6 billion, and individuals / households £1.5 billion. This included prevention costs for fighting crime.
Public transport
Crime impacts the transport sector through:
cleaning, repairs, replacements, passenger infrastructure and rolling stock
design and security costs to prevent activity, including CCTV, staffing, fencing etc.
dangers to travelling public, staff, and delaying of services
reduced revenue due to withdrawn services and public travel patterns, affected by crime fears
perpetrator danger due to track trespass.
These problems are widespread throughout the industry. Each private and public organisation encounters some form of this anti-social behaviour:
Nexus
Passenger Transport Executive in Tyne and Wear, estimating £400,000 annual costs of removing graffiti on its metro network.
The London Underground
Experiences problems with window etching, alias 'Dutch etching'. The cost to replace one window is £200, and to replace a carriage can be £6,000.
Transport for London
Identifies interior graffiti as the most common form of vandalism upon buses, especially on the upper deck. The number of missiles thrown at buses is also increasing, resulting predominantly in broken windows.
Adshel
Provides street furniture such as bus shelters, removing 66,000 pieces of graffiti and flyposting in 2002.
Who does it and why?
Young people are associated with graffiti and vandalism. The British Transport Police estimate young people are responsible for 90% of railway vandalism.
The average offender age is 17 years old and the peak time for vandalism is between 4pm-7pm. Young people have little understanding of the impact of graffiti on other passengers, cleaning or repair costs.
Peak times for railway graffiti and vandalism are the Easter and summer holidays. In comparison, this is a quiet period for bus travel crime. The peak comes in convergence with school terms and darker evenings.
Cohen's Typology of Vandalism
Acquisitive: eg. breaking into drinks machine to steal moneyTactical: break windows to enter building
Ideological: political protest
Vindictive: damage to obtain revenge
Play: part of game, eg. who can break most windows
Malicious: expression of rage, eg. break bus shelter if missed bus
Malicious vandalism is just as likely to be caused by adults, as opposed to young people causing graffiti and vandalism through 'play'. Graffiti motives can also be caused through responses to boredom. Others are apparent through gangs marking territory or specifically keeping out certain gender types (racist, sexist, homophobic graffiti).
Using graffiti against a regime can be identified as an act of free expression.
Finally, graffiti as an art form, originating from the United States, is a worldwide phenomenon. Repetitive graffiti, or tagging, is highly visible, and those engaged are as likely to include adults as much as young people.
Public transport has long been a popular target for graffiti, particularly tagging. Assurance of a large audience, and involvement in working in a dangerous environment, raises status amongst peers
Preventing and reducing vandalism and graffiti
A framework for prevention
A framework can be useful in developing a comprehensive approach:
Law enforcement - measures that enforce law against perpetrators through criminal justice system.
Situational crime prevention - measures that are designed to reduce opportunities, reduce rewards, and increase catching perpetrators.
Criminality prevention - measures designed to reduce the risk of potential perpetrators from becoming involved in crime or anti social behaviour.
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Last update: Tuesday, August 26, 2008