Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Graffiti justice: Years 9–10
Teaching and learning activities
Objective
The learning activities in this unit introduce students to the penalties and consequences of graffiti.
Through their research, students become more aware of the laws regarding graffiti in Australian
states and territories. They review graffiti as a personal, social and global problem.
The activities provide students with information to develop their:
•
awareness of graffiti as a crime
•
understanding of why penalties are imposed on offenders
•
knowledge of the impact of graffiti on individuals, communities and the global environment.
Activity description
Students review and analyse legal processes associated with the crime of graffiti. Through research
and analysis of laws, case histories and other sources, students develop personal perspectives on
punishment options for graffiti offenders.
Inquiry question
•
Are you a victim of graffiti?
Guiding questions
1.
How will the study allow students to reflect on their own values, beliefs and opinions
on the topic?
2.
Are there places where connections can be made to larger social or environmental issues?
3.
Are there opportunities for students to enact a solution or action plan about the issue?
This teaching strategy has been designed from the 5Es
inquiry framework. The following resources provide more
information about the framework.
•
E5 instructional model
education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/support/pages/e5
.aspx
•
Enhancing education: The 5Es
enhancinged.wgbh.org/research/eeeee.html
•
Introduction to inquiry based learning by Neil
Stephenson
teachinquiry.com/index/Introduction.html
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 1
Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Background information
Graffiti
What is graffiti?
Graffiti is the unauthorised act of marking other people’s property without their permission. It is
illegal, ugly and expensive to remove. Graffiti affects us all. It can lower property values, make
people feel unsafe, reduce business patronage and encourage other types of crime.
Graffiti is a crime
Graffiti is illegal in Australia. It is a persistent problem that attracts a variety of penalties. In
Queensland, graffiti is a crime under the Queensland Criminal Code Act 1899 s. 469 Wilful damage,
which states:
Any person who wilfully and unlawfully destroys or damages any property is guilty
of an offence…
If the property in question is in a public place, or is visible from a public place, and
the destruction or damage is caused by (a) spraying, writing, drawing, marking or
otherwise applying paint or another marking substance; or (b) scratching or
etching; the offender commits a crime and is liable to imprisonment for 7 years…
The court may… order the offender to perform community service… including for
example, removing graffiti from property; and … may order the offender to pay
compensation to any person.
Consequences
Graffiti offences are treated seriously by police, all levels of government and the justice system.
Juvenile offenders (aged 12–17 years) may be sentenced to a term in a detention centre, given a
graffiti removal order or given a period of probation (Note: a person aged 17 or over is tried as an
adult). Regardless of the penalty imposed by a court, a graffiti offender may be ordered to remove
the graffiti and/or pay compensation to the owner of the property that was vandalised.
Where does graffiti occur?
Most graffiti occurs on exposed walls and fences and is usually in the form of messages in letters or
images written in spray paint, permanent marker or etched into a surface with a sharp instrument.
Graffiti vandals have no respect for private or community property and no regard for the negative
impacts of their actions. Their aim is usually to impress their peers and strengthen their reputations
by putting their graffiti tags in as many places as possible.
Graffiti removal
Graffiti that is left intact attracts more graffiti. The longer it remains, the greater the gratification for
perpetrators. It also suggests that the community does not care or is unable to deal with the
problem.
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 2
Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Keeping neighbourhoods graffiti free reinforces pride in the city and helps to maintain feelings of
safety and wellbeing for everyone in the community. The best way to reduce graffiti is to remove it
as quickly as possible. Local governments, businesses, organisations and volunteers commit
money and resources to graffiti removal and participate in various graffiti prevention strategies.
City of Gold Coast graffiti prevention program
The City of Gold Coast (the City) spends approximately $1.3 million every year on graffiti removal
and manages a range of graffiti prevention strategies. The Graffiti Removal Team respond to an
average of 10,000 graffiti removal requests each year, removing graffiti from public assets and
some private property. They also provide free graffiti removal kits and support volunteer graffiti
removal programs.
The City’s graffiti prevention program includes:
•
education within schools about graffiti and its consequences
•
identifying graffiti hotspots and installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to catch
graffiti offenders
•
encouraging property owners to design and recreate spaces that are less attractive to graffiti
vandals (CPTED)
•
working with retailers of paint products
•
facilitating public art graffiti prevention projects
•
supporting community service graffiti removal programs
•
working with Police and other agencies on crime prevention programs.
You can report graffiti for removal by using the City of Gold Coast mobile app, calling the Graffiti
Hotline on 07 5581 7998 or emailing: graffiti@goldcoast.qld.gov.au.
Reporting graffiti offenders to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Policelink on 131 444 is also
encouraged.
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 3
Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Teaching strategy
Engage
1. Brain storm
Write the question ‘Are you a victim of graffiti?’ on the board/IWB.
2. As a class, students should consider and discuss the question ‘Are you a victim of graffiti?’
3. Ask students to list where they see graffiti. For example, toilets, pavements, walls.
4. Divide the class into smaller groups of four and ask students to develop a response to the
question for each of the following levels:
•
personal level
•
social level
•
global level.
In particular, they should consider:
•
what crimes are committed against the individual
•
what constitutes a crime against society
•
what crimes are committed on a global scale.
Have each group report back their proposals and have students justify why they believe that
these crimes affect their lives in some way.
Explore
5. Video
As a class, view the YouTube video clip La Joya youth center vandalized by graffiti
youtube.com/watch?v=yRWR70TQpjY.
This is a media report from the USA about a community centre that was vandalised by graffiti.
•
Ask students to silently decide what level of crime has been committed: personal, social
or global.
•
Ask students to silently think about why they think so.
•
Ask a few class members to share their thoughts.
Many may consider this as a social crime, which it is, but it is also a crime on the individual —
workers may lose their employment because of the centre’s closure. Graffiti in general is a
global crime and is an endemic problem in many countries.
•
Have students consider the penalty that was imposed on the two female offenders for
the crime. Do they feel it was sufficient, given the intent and damage?
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 4
Graffiti Prevention Education Program
6. Penalties
Provide students with the Graffiti factsheet included below, which gives information about
graffiti. It also touches on the penalties for graffiti which may include:
•
fines
•
community service — scrubbing walls and cleaning up graffiti
•
detention.
7. Ask students to define the following categories of penalty.
•
What is a ‘fine’?
•
What is ‘community service’?
•
What is ‘detention’?
Are there any other categories of penalties?
8. Ask students to identify the consequences of these penalties. For example, the consequence of
getting a fine is that it must be paid.
•
How can a young person pay a fine?
•
If a child under 18 is fined, their parents are responsible for the debt. What happens if
the fine was $24,000 (the maximum penalty for this offence) or the cost of removing the
graffiti was over $30,000? What would be the impact on the family?
9. Research activity
Have students research the penalties imposed on graffiti offenders by different states and
territories in Australia by completing the Student activity worksheet 1: Graffiti justice.
Explain
10. Scenarios
Direct students to Student activity worksheet 2: Graffiti justice, which describes different
scenarios of graffiti offences. Ask students their opinion on what is a suitable punishment for the
offence (all offences are by young offenders under the age of 17).
11. Personal perspective
Students then develop personal perspectives on selected aspects of graffiti sentencing. For
example, what justice format is likely to have greater impact in reducing graffiti: youth justice
conferencing or more traditional sentencing options (fines, graffiti clean-up, paying for
damages)?
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 5
Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Elaborate
12. Mock trial
Divide the class into two groups. These groups will constitute two opposing teams for a mock
trial. The trial will be for the following scenario:
A graffiti offender has been caught and charged with the crime of willful damage
of buildings in the local primary school. The offender used spray paint to paint
graffiti tags and obscene words on three buildings in the school, including the
early childhood centre. The offender is 18 years of age. Police caught the
offender with three other males; however, he was the only one who was
charged, as he was in possession of graffiti tools and equipment. The police
report that the offender has a previous record for the same offence.
13. Ask the class to elect a student to be the judge/magistrate and three students to be the jury. Set
up the room as per a courtroom.
14. The ‘prosecution’ team should elect three lawyers who will present the case for the prosecution
in three parts. The other members of the team will be team researchers, witnesses and police.
The ‘defense’ team will mirror the ‘prosecution’ team, but will also include a student role-playing
the offender.
15. Each team will prepare their case and present it as per the agreed procedures of the courtroom.
Witnesses can give evidence and be questioned. The jury will pronounce the offender as ‘guilty’
or ‘not guilty’ depending on the evidence presented. The judge/magistrate will sentence the
offender.
16. You may like to video the mock court to document the proceedings. Discuss the strengths and
weaknesses of each team’s arguments and the quality of research and evidence provided
during the trial.
Evaluate
17. News report
Have students develop a news report about the trial as if they were a court reporter for a local
newspaper. The report should be no more than 200 words and include a catchy title, a
description of what happened and why, who was involved, quotes from interviewees who
attended the trial, a victim impact statement and a comment from the police.
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 6
Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Australian Curriculum links
Learning areas
Strand
Content descriptions
Civics and
citizenship
Citizenship,
diversity
and identity
Year 9
How ideas about and experiences of Australian identity are
influenced by global connectedness and mobility (ACHCK081)
Year
10
The challenges to and ways of sustaining a resilient democracy
and cohesive society (ACHCK094)
Cross-curriculum link: The Arts — Visual Arts
Cross-curriculum priorities
Sustainability
Futures
OI.9
Sustainable futures result from actions designed to preserve
and/or restore the quality and uniqueness of environments.
General capabilities
Element
Sub-element
Literacy
Comprehending texts through
listening, reading and viewing
Interpret and analyse learning area texts
Composing texts through
speaking, writing and creating
Compose spoken, written, visual and
multimodal learning area texts
Use language to interact with others
Information
Communication
Technology (ICT)
capability
Grammar knowledge
Express opinion and point of view
Word knowledge
Understand learning area vocabulary
Investigating with ICT
Define and plan information searches
Locate, generate and access data and
information
Select and evaluate data and information
Creating with ICT
Generate ideas, plans and processes
Generate solutions to challenges and
learning area tasks
Critical and creative
thinking
Ethical understanding
Inquiring — identifying, exploring,
organising information and ideas
Pose questions
Identify and clarify information and ideas
Generating ideas, possibilities
and actions
Imagine possibilities and connect ideas
Reflecting on thinking and
processes
Transfer knowledge into new contexts
Exploring values, rights and
responsibilities
Examine values
Explore rights and responsibilities
Consider points of view
Source: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), downloaded from the Australian Curriculum
website in March 2014.
CC-BY-SA
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 7
Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Resources
•
Graffiti Prevention Education Program PowerPoint — Secondary
•
Queensland Police: Crime prevention through environmental design — Part A: Essential
features of safer places
police.qld.gov.au/programs/cscp/safetyPublic
•
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA): Graphic organisers
education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/support/pages/graphicorganisers.aspx
•
Glogster
edu.glogster.com
•
Prezi
prezi.com
City of Gold Coast graffiti prevention resources
•
Graffiti prevention information
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
•
Video clip: Graffiti — Let’s stay on top of it
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
•
Graffiti prevention education resources, colouring sheet, find-a-word puzzle
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/education
•
Graffiti — Let’s stay on top of it: A factsheet for the Queensland Police Service
goldcoast.qld.gov.au/documents/bf/graffiti-fact-sheet-reporting.pdf
Community resources
•
Gold Coast Community Guide
goldcoastcity.com.au/communityguide
•
City of Gold Coast: Community safety
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/communitysafety
Additional resources
•
Australian Institute of Criminology: Key issues in graffiti
aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/rip/1-10/06.html
•
Graffiti hurts: Graffiti prevention: Best practices for communities
graffitihurts.org
•
National Crime Prevention Framework
police.qld.gov.au/programs/cscp
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 8
Graffiti Prevention Education Program
•
Queensland Government: Types of crime – Graffiti
qld.gov.au/law/crime-and-police/types-of-crime/graffiti/
•
Lawstuff: Graffiti (South Australia)
lawstuff.org.au/sa_law/topics/Graffiti
•
NSW Lawlink: Graffiti vandalism
http://www.crimeprevention.nsw.gov.au/cpd/protectcommunity/graffitivandalism.html
•
Victoria Legal Aid: Graffiti laws
legalaid.vic.gov.au/find-legal-answers/criminal-offences/graffiti-laws
•
ABC Gold Coast: Graffiti attracts graffiti
abc.net.au/local/photos/2011/10/27/3349879.htm
Video clips
•
La Joya Youth Center vandalized by graffiti (2 mins)
youtube.com/watch?v=yRWR70TQpjY
•
7News: War on graffiti (5 mins)
youtube.com/watch?v=BNdJeYJC13Q
•
Today Tonight: Brisbane graffiti vandals (10 mins)
youtube.com/watch?v=l6PLvW5o7Xo
•
Graffiti or art? Justin Bieber sprays Gold Coast hotel (2 mins)
youtube.com/watch?v=L2l66QK3_X8
•
Australian graffiti documentary (60 mins)
youtube.com/watch?v=UovsPn4Dvg0
(URLs active as of January 2014)
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 9
Graffiti Prevention Education Program
What is graffiti?
Graffiti is the unauthorised act of marking other people’s property without their permission. It is
illegal, ugly and expensive to remove. Graffiti affects us all, it can lower property values, make
people feel unsafe, reduce business patronage and encourage other types of crime.
Where does graffiti occur?
Most graffiti occurs on exposed walls and fences and is usually in the form of messages in letters or
images, written in spray paint, permanent marker or etched into a surface with a sharp instrument.
Graffiti vandals have no respect for private or community property and no regard for the negative
impacts of their actions. Their aim is usually to impress their peers and strengthen their reputations,
by putting their graffiti tags in as many places as possible.
In Queensland graffiti
is a crime under the
Queensland Criminal
Code Act 1899 s469
“Wilful Damage”
Graffiti is a crime
Graffiti is illegal in Australia. It is a persistent problem that attracts a
variety of penalties. In Queensland, graffiti is a crime under the
Queensland Criminal Code Act 1899 s469 “Wilful Damage” Any person
who wilfully and unlawfully destroys or damages any property is guilty
of an offence.
(1) If the property in question is in a public place, or is visible from a public place, and the
destruction or damage is caused by (a) spraying, writing, drawing, marking or otherwise applying
paint or another marking substance; or (b) scratching or etching; the offender commits a crime and
is liable to imprisonment for 7 years.
(3) The court may order the offender to perform community service, including for example,
removing graffiti from property; and/or may order the offender to pay compensation to any person.
Consequences
Graffiti offences are treated seriously by Police, all levels of government and the justice system.
Juvenile offenders (aged 12-17 years) may be sentenced to a term in a detention centre, given a
graffiti removal order or given a period of probation (note: a person aged 17 or over is tried as an
adult). Regardless of the penalty imposed by a court, a graffiti offender may be ordered to remove
the graffiti and/or pay compensation to the owner of the property that was vandalised.
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 10
Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Graffiti removal
Graffiti that is left intact attracts more graffiti. The longer it remains
the greater the gratification for perpetrators. It also suggests that
the community does not care or is unable to deal with the problem.
Keeping neighbourhoods graffiti free reinforces pride in the city
and helps to maintain feelings of safety and well-being for
everyone in the community.
The best way to reduce graffiti is to remove it as quickly as
possible. Local governments, businesses, organisations and
volunteers commit money and resources to graffiti removal and
participate in various graffiti prevention strategies.
© Copyright, Council of the City of Gold
Coast (Council) 2001-2014
Photographer: Sam Lindsay
City of Gold Coast graffiti prevention program
The City of Gold Coast (the City) spends approximately $1.3 million every year on graffiti removal
and manages a range of graffiti prevention strategies. Our Graffiti Removal Team responds to an
average of 10,000 graffiti removal requests each year, removing graffiti from public assets and
some private property. We also provide free graffiti removal kits and supports volunteer graffiti
removal programs.
The City’s graffiti prevention program includes:
• education within schools about graffiti and its
consequences
• identifying graffiti hotspots and installing closecircuit television (CCTV) cameras to
catch graffiti offenders
• encouraging property owners to design and
create spaces that are less attractive to
graffiti vandals (CPTED)
• working with retailers of paint products
Graffiti Prevention Mural by Libby Harward
© Copyright, Council of the City of Gold Coast
(Council) 2001-2014
Photographer: Sam Lindsay
• facilitating public art graffiti prevention projects
• supporting community service graffiti removal programs
• working with police and other agencies on crime prevention programs.
You can report graffiti for removal:
A City of Gold Coast mobile app
P 07 5581 7998 (Graffiti Hotline)
E graffiti@goldcoast.qld.gov.au
Reporting graffiti offenders to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or
Policelink on 131 444 is also encouraged.
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 11
Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Student activity sheet 1: Graffiti justice
Research the penalties for graffiti in the different Australian states and territories.
Penalties — States/Territories
Wilful damage of property/graffiti
Possession of implements to commit graffiti
QLD
NSW
ACT
VIC
TAS
SA
WA
NT
Document the current consequences for convicted graffiti offenders in your state. Include
information on the sentencing criteria (e.g. does the age of the offender or the nature of the graffiti
affect the punishment). Include an appropriately referenced source for the information.
Details
Criteria
Source
Fines
Custodial
sentences
Youth justice
conferencing
Other financial
penalties
Community
service
Other
consequences
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 12
Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Student activity sheet 2: Graffiti justice
What do you think is an appropriate punishment for the graffiti offences described below?
Justify your answer.
Case
Answer
A 15-year-old girl was caught tagging in
the toilet of a shopping centre. She
tagged three doors and one mirror. There
was no other evidence of her tagging in
the centre and no record of the tag she
was using elsewhere in the
neighbourhood.
Two boys, aged 15 and 16, did a large
‘throw-up’ graffiti piece on the side of a
delivery van. The van was parked in a
locked yard and the boys had to scale a
fence to get into the yard. As a result of
the graffiti, the van had to be repainted
and all the signage was replaced, which
cost the company $3000.
A 16-year-old boy was caught on camera
using a marker and a knife to draw and
scratch his tag throughout the whole
carriage of a train. Police later found over
250 photos on his computer and phone
showing similar graffiti tags on trains,
buses and signs across the region.
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
Graffiti justice: Years 9–10: page 13