South Ayrshire Council News

Constable Bobby Bell, Hamid Gazem, Trading Standards Officer, Inspector Gary Ritchie, Ken Harkin

Graffiti has become an unwelcome fact of life in some areas of South Ayrshire. The effects of graffiti can be severe in both the cost of cleaning it and the effect it can have on local communities, particularly if it is of an offensive nature. The cost of cleaning graffiti in the UK in a single year for both private individuals and local authorities is estimated at £1 billion.

Strathclyde police and South Ayrshire Council have been working together to try and reduce the incidence of graffiti combining their efforts on both prevention and enforcement.

It is an offence under anti social behaviour legislation for a retailer to sell a spray paint product to anyone under the age of 16. Previous test purchase operations by South Ayrshire Trading Standards using young people showed a very disappointing failure rate of 83% of shops making sales to 14 ½ year olds. Trading Standards and Police Officers have been reinforcing the ‘No Proof, No Sale’ message with all sellers. As the tightening of controls on aerosol spray paints makes it more difficult for young vandals to obtain the products there has been a noticeable increase in the use of ‘novelty hair dye’ to achieve the same end.

This week Trading Standards and the Police have been visiting known stockists of the product and asking them to voluntarily comply with an age restriction on the product. Signs have been distributed as part of the South Ayrshire Civic Pride Initiative for retailers to display stating that spray hair dye will only be sold to people over 16 years of age.

Councillor Peter Convery, South Ayrshire Council’s spokesman on Trading Standards issues explained, “Whilst this product may not be as durable on all surfaces as an aerosol spray paint, it is cheaper, comes in a range of gaudy colours and is not subject to legal age restriction or controls. However, the end effect is the same – defaced property that takes time, effort and money to clean up.”

Superintendent Hazlett, Sub Divisional officer in charge of Policing within South Ayrshire added, “It doesn’t matter what product is used, graffiti is vandalism and a source of great concern to the local community. We have submitted over 200 reports to the Procurator Fiscal in the past few years and receive many complaints from local residents and businesses. We have asked the retailers of this product to play their part by imposing the voluntary age restriction and so far this has been well received with 100% backing from those retailers already visited.”

Councillor Convery added, “I will be bringing the matter to the attention of the appropriate Department of the Scottish Government to see if these controls can strengthened by legislation.”