Photo: Graffiti, Southport sea wall
Graffiti artists have sprayed the sea wall under Southport Pier. This graffiti has been under pier for a number of weeks and to thousands of people this weekend at the Air Show.
The laws on public property are very strict and anyone caught doing graffiti can be arrested and prosecuted under the Criminal Damage Act 1971. Offenders can go to prison for ten years or fined if the damage costs more than ?5,000. If the damage caused is less than ?5,000, you could face three months imprisonment or a ?2,500 fine.
The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 introduced new powers for local councils to punish offenders and to help them clear up illegal graffiti. These included:
- • On-the-spot fines of £50 to anyone caught doing graffiti on public property. These can be given out by police officers, community support officers or local authority officials;
- • Giving local authorities the power to give clean-up notices to owners of street furniture such as phone boxes if they have graffiti on them. If the property is not cleaned in 28 days the authority can remove the graffiti themselves and charge the owner for this service;
- • Making it an offence to sell spray paint to under-16s. If a shopkeeper can’t prove they took reasonable steps to determine the age of the person, they can be fined up to £2,500.
Anyone with information as to who could have done this is asked to call Southport Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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